Crowdsourced security leader Bugcrowd has secured $102 million in strategic growth funding. This investment, led by General Catalyst alongside Rally Ventures and Costanoa Ventures, fuels the company’s ambitions to solidify its position in a burgeoning market and empower organisations to evolve themselves in cyber threat landscape.
This investment enables the company to expand operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), and the United States. It will help continue investing in enhancements to the Bugcrowd platform and also make them pursue opportunities that could further add value to clients, partners, and the hacker community. Earlier this year in January, Israeli tech unicorn Aqua Security raised $60M for its cloud-based cybersecurity approach as well.
Mark Crane, Partner at General Catalyst, and Paul Sagan, Senior Advisor at General Catalyst, will join the Bugcrowd Board of Directors. Sagan will serve as Chair. Additionally, Jeff Simon, Chief Security Officer at T-Mobile, and Prabhath Karanth, Vice President and Global Head of Security and Trust at Navan, will join the advisory board alongside David Fairman, CIO & CSO – APAC at Netskope.
Building on a strong foundation
Bugcrowd boasts a growing client base of nearly 1,000, including industry giants like Rapyd, T-Mobile, and OpenAI. In 2023 alone, their platform facilitated the identification of almost 23,000 high-impact vulnerabilities, potentially saving clients billions in breach-related costs. This impressive track record, coupled with a year-over-year business growth of over 40%, demonstrates the increasing demand for crowdsourced security solutions.
Bugcrowd’s strategic expansion and innovation
The newly acquired funding will be channelled towards accelerating Bugcrowd’s global footprint. Expansion plans target key regions like Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), and the United States. Additionally, the company plans to invest in further innovations for its AI-powered platform. Strategic mergers and acquisitions are also being explored to bolster their offerings and expertise. This two-pronged approach underscores Bugcrowd’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of the crowdsourced security landscape.
Case study: Rapyd’s security success with Bugcrowd
Fintech unicorn Rapyd serves as a powerful example of the effectiveness of Bugcrowd’s solutions. By utilising Bugcrowd’s Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) and public Bug Bounty program, Rapyd has continuously evaluated and strengthened their security posture.
In just one year, they uncovered 15 critical vulnerabilities and nearly 40 total vulnerabilities. Their commitment to program management and rapid remediation efforts resulted in an average time-to-fix of 18 days, significantly outperforming the industry average of 31 days. Rapyd’s experience exemplifies the value proposition of Bugcrowd’s platform, highlighting its ability to deliver concrete results even for fast-growing organisations.
Achiad Avivi, Applications Security at Rapyd said, “We quickly felt safe to take our program public with Bugcrowd. We value the way Bugcrowd finds the right hackers with the right expertise for our programs.”
Rapyd has achieved significant success with Bugcrowd’s platform, identifying 15 critical vulnerabilities and nearly 40 total vulnerabilities in just one year. Prior to launching a public program, they prioritised establishing a robust internal process.
Collaborating with Bugcrowd, Rapyd developed a comprehensive roadmap ensuring a smooth public launch. Currently, the Rapyd team is integrating their bug bounty program with their software development lifecycle (SDLC) and product security processes to facilitate sustainable growth and program optimization. This proactive approach demonstrates Rapyd’s commitment to long-term cybersecurity effectiveness.
Industry recognition and validation
Market analysts and industry leaders have taken notice of Bugcrowd’s impact and potential. Mark Crane, Partner at General Catalyst, states, “We saw an opportunity to make a strategic investment in the crowdsourced security market… In our view, the validation from customers, hackers, industry analysts, and the broader cybersecurity community well positions Bugcrowd to be a category-leading company.”
This sentiment is echoed by David Fairman, Chief Security Officer at Netskope and Bugcrowd Advisory Board Member, who sees this investment as a testament to Bugcrowd’s “commitment to enabling businesses to stay ahead of today’s most sophisticated cyber threats by working together as a community.”
Secure future with crowdsourced security
As Bugcrowd navigates this new chapter fueled by the recent investment, its core mission remains unchanged: to empower organisations to stay ahead of cyber threats by harnessing the combined power of human ingenuity and cutting-edge technology.
By strategically expanding its reach, investing in platform innovation, and fostering strong partnerships, Bugcrowd is likely to solidify its leadership position in the crowdsourced security market. In a world increasingly threatened by cyberattacks, this company’s success becomes a collective victory, safeguarding the digital future for individuals and organisations alike.
