SYDNEY, BOSTON, LONDON, BRUGES - 11 December 2019: Global secure coding company, Secure Code Warrior®, today announced it had secured a Series B funding round of US$47.6 million led by Goldman Sachs. Additional investors also include ForgePoint Capital and Cisco Investments , with new commitments from existing investors Sydney-based AirTree Ventures and US-based Paladin Capital Group. The investment, representing the largest ever US investment of its kind for an Australian cybersecurity business, will be used to support global expansion initiatives, ongoing product innovation, and the establishment of new operations on the West Coast of the United States in Portland, Oregon and across APAC starting in Singapore.
“As organizations around the world increase their reliance on software, the need for secure code has never been more important. However, each day, security breaches resulting from previously known software vulnerabilities occur, impacting both individuals and organizations,” said Pieter Danhieux, Secure Code Warrior, Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman. “To put it simply, this situation has to stop. Secure Code Warrior’s vision is to make developers the first line of defense by making security highly visible and providing them with the skills and tools needed to write secure code from the beginning. Our purpose is to support their ultimate goal of shipping secure code with confidence.”
“The Digital Enterprise and CI/CD are two major trends that are placing the application and the developer on the frontlines of the business. Secure Code Warrior helps organizations code more securely while allowing them to maintain productivity and delivery timelines,” said David Campbell, a Managing Director in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division who will join the Secure Code Warrior board of directors as part of the investment. “We are excited to be working with Pieter and the Secure Code Warrior team as they execute their unique vision.”
Founded in 2015 by global cybersecurity experts Pieter Danhieux and Dr. Matias Madou, Secure Code Warrior is an online secure coding platform that helps developers think and act with a security mindset every day. It includes support for nearly 30 programming languages and frameworks, and delivers more than 3,500 training modules that cover more than 140 different software weaknesses; including the all-important OWASP Top 10.
The Secure Code Warrior platform is designed to be role-specific for developers and uses a mix of gamification techniques to aid learning and increase adoption across an organisation. It supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks that power modern software, including vital digital infrastructures like web apps and services, API, mobile, IoT technology, and legacy systems still in use by major companies around the world.
This most recent investment follows Secure Code Warrior’s previous Series A funding in mid-2018 which was led by Paladin Capital Group, and AirTree Ventures. Since then, Secure Code Warrior has experienced substantial growth and now has more than 180 customers from 28 countries around the world. In addition to customer growth, staff numbers have risen to more than 120 employees globally, with plans to continue rapid hiring in all locations and functions, as well as maintaining the company's diversity profile of near-parity between females and males.
“While our roots are firmly based in Australia and Belgium, Secure Code Warrior has been globally focussed since day one,” continued Pieter. “Early local customers such as the Commonwealth Bank and Tyro Payments have been joined by other secure coding organisations around the world such as Verizon, the BBC, DBS Bank, Revolut, Standard Chartered Bank, ING Bank, Telstra, and Motorola.”
In 2019 the company added new customers from Argentina, Peru, South Korea, Norway, India, South Africa, the UAE, and the Philippines. “The addition of customers from across the world signals that not only is software development on the rise pretty much everywhere, but also that the opportunity to increase the world’s secure coding skills at source is enormous, and we have really only just begun,” added Danhieux.
SUPPORTING QUOTES
“In a time when the industry is struggling with securing their environment and products, Secure Code Warrior addresses the root cause - Dev Ops delivering secure code. Secure Code Warrior solves a fundamental problem for organizations: teaching, measuring and improving secure coding skills during the development process. The Security industry cannot keep up with the vulnerabilities hackers produce, as current market solutions are simply not effective,” said Sean Cunningham, Managing Director at ForgePoint Capital. “Secure Code Warrior’s unique approach and vision delivers phenomenal insights and solutions to developers and management. ForgePoint Capital is honoured to work with Pieter, Matias and their world-class team as they continue their successful journey”.
“Cisco fundamentally believes that securing applications requires a cooperative model. Reducing risk and increasing agility are not mutually exclusive objectives, as Pieter and the Secure Code Warrior team are demonstrating by delivering on a critical step in that direction. We are pleased to invest in Secure Code Warrior as they continue to enable development and security teams to construct safer code,” said Bret Hartman, vice president and CTO, Cisco Security Business Group.
“Secure Code Warrior is succeeding in solving for a fundamental tension in the era of digital transformation: the increasing push for business agility while maintaining high cybersecurity and risk management standards. By empowering developers at the front lines of the modern digital enterprise, SCW is leading the charge in enabling its customers to be more secure and trusted, all while enhancing efficiency,” said Mourad Yesayan, Board member and Managing Director at Paladin Capital Group. “We are delighted to partner with these world-class financial and strategic investors to support Pieter, Matias, and a phenomenal team in this next phase of rapid growth.”
“The new front in the cybersecurity war is being fought by software developers. Secure Code Warrior is focused on helping developers write code more securely, and they have emerged as a clear global leader in developer-driven cybersecurity. This is one of the fastest-growing software companies we’ve seen come out of Australia, and it’s fantastic to see Australian based technology like this being exported around the globe. We’re excited to be doubling down and supporting them in their global expansion,” said James Cameron, Partner at AirTree Ventures.
ABOUT SECURE CODE WARRIOR
Secure Code Warrior is a global security company that makes software development better and more secure. Our vision is to empower developers to be the first line of defense in their organization by making security highly visible and providing them with the skills and tools to write secure code from the beginning.
Our customers include financial institutions, telecommunications providers and global technology companies in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific.
ABOUT GOLDMAN SACHS MERCHANT BANKING DIVISION
Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (MBD) is the primary center for the firm’s long-term principal investing activity. MBD is one of the leading private capital investors in the world with investments across private equity, infrastructure, private debt, growth equity and real estate.
ABOUT FORGEPOINT CAPITAL
For more than three decades, the team at ForgePoint has focused on advancing the cybersecurity ecosystem by connecting entrepreneurs, corporate and government customers, strategic partners, advisors, and executives to forge the next generation of cybersecurity companies that protect the digital world. Learn more at www.forgepointcap.com
ABOUT PALADIN CAPITAL GROUP
Paladin Capital Group is a leading global investor that supports and grows the world’s most innovative companies through venture investment, expansion, and growth capital. We are headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City, Silicon Valley, London, and Luxembourg. We seek out diverse investment opportunities across the US and worldwide. www.paladincapgroup.com
ABOUT AIRTREE VENTURES
AirTree Ventures invests in world-class entrepreneurs building the exceptional companies of tomorrow. It is the largest venture capital fund in Australia, and over the past two decades has partnered with 40+ companies including market leaders such as Canva, Prospa, A Cloud Guru, DroneDeploy, and Hyper Anna. www.airtree.vc
