Cybersecurity startups raked in $7.6 billion in VC money in 2017 — twice as much as the year before

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha’s firm closed a $180 million funding round in April, which was the biggest investment in the cybersecurity sector in 2017.

• Venture capitalist firms invested twice as much money in cybersecurity startups in 2017 as they did in 2016.
• Venture firms invested $7.6 billion into such companies last year via 548 deals.
• Investors are following the money; corporations and governments are increasing their spending on cybersecurity amid growing concern about vulnerabilities and breaches.

Cybersecurity has repeatedly been in the news of late, and startups that specialize in it are raking in investments as a result.

Venture capitalists invested twice as much money in cybersecurity startups in 2017 as they did the year before, according to new data from CB Insights.

Globally, venture investors put $7.6 billion in cybersecurity companies last year, which was up from $3.8 billion in 2016, according to the research firm. The number of cybersecurity-related investments jumped to 548 in 2017 from 467 deals the year before.

Among those deals were several gigantic funding rounds.

Rubrik, based in Palo Alto, California, raised $180 million in April, giving it a $1.3 billion valuation, according to PitchBook. That same month, Illumio raised $125 million, boosting the valuation of the Sunnyvale, California, company to an estimated $1.2 billion.

With recent news about a security flaw that affects nearly every PC, smartphone and tablet in use and with high-profile security breaches such as those at Equifax and Uber looming over companies and consumers, it’s no wonder there is a burgeoning market for cybersecurity products and growing interest in such companies among investors.

Global spending on cybersecurity was estimated to reach $83.5 billion in 2017, and that number could hit $119.9 billion in 2021, according to an IDC report from October.

Here’s how venture investments in cybersecurity companies in 2017 compared to those of prior years:

Data provided by CB Insights