Today (Wednesday), Salt Security, an Israeli API security startup, announced the closing of $70 million in Series C funding. The round was led by a veteran private equity investor Advent International, with participation from Alkeon Capital and DFJ Growth, as well as from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Tenaya Capital, S Capital VC, and Y Combinator - the world’s top accelerator program.

"Existing protections cannot prevent API attacks"

Salt Security, as they say, was in the right place at the right time. The digital transition and migration to cloud environments has put APIs on center stage, but in the same word, has also attached a big fat target to their backs from potential malicious attackers looking for a lucrative payday. According to the company, API attacks are increasingly becoming the most popular form of cyberattack, something possibly proven by Salt’s 400% growth in revenue over the past year.

“We continue to see API security incidents make the news headlines and cause significant reputational risk for companies. As we investigated the API security market, Salt stood out for its multi-year technical lead, significant customer traction and references, and talented team. We look forward to drawing on our deep experience in this sector to partner with Salt in this exciting new chapter,” said Bryan Taylor, managing partner and head of Advent’s technology team in Palo Alto.

This has led the company to take a different and more advanced approach to API security. Salt combines AI and machine learning algorithms to continuously protect and monitor enterprise API networks. The Salt system can be deployed in minutes, and uses Big Data and automation engines to provide ongoing discovery, exposing sensitive data, and stopping attackers during early stages. The Israeli company’s agentless platform also provides remediation insights, equipping security managers with increased visibility over their API networks.

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, Salt Security has been pretty busy - last June raising $20 million, and then in December bringing in another $30 million. Other than amassing massive funding, the cyber company has also witnessed its headcount grow by 160%. These numbers paired with the most funding ever in the API market, more than hint at the company’s potential growth. Salt plans to use the capital to expand global sales and marketing efforts, while also continuing to invest heavily in R&D.

“Several recent high-profile API security incidents have forced organizations to recognize that  their existing protections cannot prevent API attacks or handle the scale and complexity of today’s API-driven applications,” said Roey Eliyahu, CEO and co-founder of Salt Security. “This new round of funding will help us increase our rate of innovation and businesses in more regions securely adopt APIs to foster their own innovation.”

Salt Security was founded in 2016 by CEO Roey Eliyahu and COO Michael Nicosia. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with R&D based in Israel. The company’s API security serves Fortune 500 companies across different sectors, including Equinix, Finastra, TripActions, Armis, and DeinDeal.