Cybersecurity Startup BlueVoyant Pushing for $1.4B Valuation in Funding Round

Cybersecurity startup BlueVoyant is eyeing a $150 million investment funding round that values the company at about $1.4 billion, a source familiar with the company’s intentions told Bloomberg Monday (Nov. 15).

A BlueVoyant spokeswoman declined to comment for Bloomberg’s report.

New York-based BlueVoyant was co-founded in 2017 by Chief Executive Officer Jim Rosenthal, a former Morgan Stanley chief operating officer, and Executive Chairman Tom Glocer, the former CEO of Thomson Reuters Corp. and current Morgan Stanley board member.

Last month, BlueVoyant acquired 202 Group, setting a goal for the combined company to help government entities keep closer tabs on their supply chains for third-party cyberattacks and vendor risks.

Among BlueVoyant’s investors are Singapore state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, Winton Ventures, 8VC and DNS Capital, according to PitchBook data.

Related: White House: Federal Computers Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

In other cybersecurity-related news, a new White House directive outlines nearly 300 cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the federal government’s antiquated computer systems, including the need to update or replace outdated versions of software — some of which have not been regularly updated for years or offer limited protection against hackers.

President Joe Biden set Nov. 17 (Wednesday) as the target date for fixing the more significant issues and May 3, 2022, for less pressing matters.

In August, Biden met with CEOs from several of the largest U.S. technology firms, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM, to push for improved cybersecurity. Google will spend $10 billion through 2026 on cybersecurity improvements, while Microsoft pledged $20 billion.

IBM plans to have 150,000 workers trained in cybersecurity by 2024, Apple intends to create a program to boost the tech supply chain and Amazon will make its in-house cybersecurity training available to the public.

The Biden administration also launched a new U.S. ransomware task force in July, offering rewards of up to $10 million for information that identifies cybercriminals. Cybersecurity Ventures says there are ransomware attacks every 11 seconds and that there have been 4,000 daily attacks in the U.S. since 2016.

See also: US, Israel Partner on Cybersecurity Issues