Sonatype, a company that helps companies build more secure software, will be announcing an $80 million funding round led by TPG.
Why it matters: The Equifax breach occurred with a known vulnerable component. Sonatype's aim is to help companies choose more secure components — and know when the components they use have new vulnerabilities so they can patch them.
Sonatype’s other goal is to help companies more take advantage of open source code.
Driving the investment: Sonatype CEO Wayne Jackson said he's been in talks with TPG for "well over a year," but wasn't willing to accept the dilution that accompanies such a large investment until now.
- “While the use of open source continues to grow exponentially, its ungoverned use presents significant security risks, as evidenced by last year’s breach at Equifax,” said Art Heidrich of TPG said in a statement.
The details: The round is the largest in volume ever for the firm and surpasses the combined funds the firm previously raised since the firm was founded in 2008, per CrunchBase.
- The investment round will back additional R&D investments, sales, marketing, and strategic objectives, including expanding Sonatype’s Nexus platform offerings.
- Existing investors participated in the new round, including Accel, Goldman Sachs Group, and Hummer Winblad. Barclay’s is acting as financial advisor.