Goldman Sachs invests in cybersecurity firm

TAMPA — Cybersecurity company KnowBe4 Inc. secured $30 million in growth capital financing led by new investor Goldman Sachs Growth Equity (GS Growth), with existing investor Elephant also participating.

According to a news release, the Series B round brings KnowBe4's total financing to $44 million and comes on the heels of an explosive quarter of continued growth. The new funds will primarily be invested in international growth and product development, further demonstrating KnowBe4's commitment to helping organizations enable their employees to make smarter security decisions.

"KnowBe4 has separated itself as a leader in the cyber-security awareness training market, with their platform becoming a 'need to have' for businesses across sectors and geographies in the fight against cyber-threats," states Hans Sherman, a vice president in Goldman Sachs' merchant banking division, in the release.

Sherman will join the KnowBe4 board of directors in connection with the investment.

“Our financing will support the company's continuing growth as they expand globally and develop new products to serve this fast-growing market,” he adds.

KnowBe4 has experienced 18 consecutive quarters of sales growth. The company says its run of growth has been driven by an increasing enterprise demand for its new-school approach to security awareness training that emphasizes turning employees into a "'human firewall" who can recognize and avoid cyber threats, becoming an effective last line of defense when all technical security layers have failed.

"The confidence in our company demonstrated by GS Growth's investment shows the strength of the new-school security awareness training market, and support for KnowBe4's approach and dedication to mobilizing employees to make smarter security decisions and reduce overall company risk," states Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 founder and CEO, in the release.

KnowBe4's security awareness training and simulated phishing platform is used by more than 13,000 organizations worldwide, according to the release. The company had $24.4 million in revenue last year.