Vanta raises $150M in Series C, boosting valuation to $2.45B

Trust Management Platform Vanta Secures $150 Million in Series C Funding

Vanta, a platform that automates security and compliance processes for businesses, has announced a successful $150 million Series C funding round, significantly boosting the company's valuation to $2.45 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 2022. The funding round was led by Sequoia Capital.

Expansion Beyond Compliance

Initially, Vanta was focused on aiding businesses in achieving certifications such as ISO 27001, HIPAA, and SOC 2. Recently, the company has broadened its scope with ambitions to contribute more holistically to the realm of business trust. Vanta's co-founder and CEO revealed that the firm is now concentrating on developing security programs for companies and rewarding them for their robust security efforts. This shift aims to enhance customer trust, particularly in managing customer data.

An example involves customers like Omni Hotels, which rely on third-party tools to hold customer data. Vanta assists these firms in ensuring the security and trustworthiness of such tools, even though Omni Hotels do not build their own software.

Building In-House Security Tools

As part of its trust-centric approach, Vanta is also developing its own security tools. The objective isn't to compete directly with established security firms, but to enable companies to support their security claims with technical evidence. This often involves creating integrations with existing security tools — with Vanta having developed around 200 in-house integrations, while another 100 companies have built their own.

AI-Driven Innovations

Vanta has integrated AI into its offerings, launching its initial AI products last year. The company plans to broaden its use of large language models, evidenced by the recent launch of its questionnaire automation service. This service streamlines the exhausting process of completing security review questionnaires. Quality metrics show that 80% of the answers generated by the AI are accepted immediately by human reviewers, with minor adjustments needed for the rest.

The company's adaptation of LLMs is designed to handle tedious tasks efficiently, saving time and enhancing the accuracy of information gathering.

Future Plans and Global Expansion

With the new funding, Vanta intends to push further into the marketplace, extending its reach beyond its startup origins. As it stands, three-quarters of current YC cohort startups utilize Vanta's services. The platform currently serves over 8,000 customers globally and plans to develop its AI products further while expanding its international presence. With a workforce of 500, Vanta focuses regionally on North America, the U.K., Germany, and Australia. Presently, about a quarter of its clients are located outside the U.S.

Investor Confidence

The funding round saw participation from new investors, including Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives and J.P. Morgan. Existing backers like Atlassian Ventures, Craft Ventures, CrowdStrike Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, Workday Ventures, and Y Combinator also contributed to this round. Since its inception in 2018, Vanta has raised a total of $354 million in funding.