Image credits: Nord Security
Nord Security, a Vilnius-based cybersecurity firm, announced that it has raised a $100M (approx €91.7M) in a financing round at a valuation of $1.6B, making it Lithuania’s second tech unicorn.
The funding round was led by Novator Ventures with participation from Burda Principal Investments and General Catalyst. Founders and angel investors, including Ilkka Paananen (CEO, Supercell), Miki Kuusi (CEO, Wolt), and Matt Mullenweg (CEO, Automattic), also joined the round.
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Fund utilisation
The investment will enable the Lithuanian company to expand its product suite and enterprise footprint, as well as accelerate the growth of consumer cybersecurity company Surfshark, with which Nord Security joined forces in early 2022.
For starters, Surfshark’s product suite includes a consumer VPN, Antivirus, Alert (online data breach detector), Search (privacy search), and Incogni (data deletion tool for online databases).
Tom Okman, co-CEO and co-founder at Nord Security, says, “Ten years ago, we set out to create security and privacy tools which would help create a safer and more peaceful online future; today, millions of people trust our products every day to protect them. We are profitable and have been bootstrapped until today, but in our investors, we have found partners who believe in our mission as much as we do, which will allow us to grow faster and double down on our aspiration to build a radically better internet. We’re also humbled to play a part in helping Lithuania, a fiercely entrepreneurial country, enter into a new era of technological innovation.”
Nord Security also says the funds will be used to make hires at all levels and across every function, adding to Nord Security’s 1700-person team.
Nord Security: What you need to know
With rapid digitisation, consumers and businesses are now exposed to heightened cyber risks.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime will cost the global economy a staggering $10.5T by 2025, and nearly half of consumers now expect to be hacked. Consequently, a more holistic approach to online security is required.
Founded by Tom Okman and Eimantas Sabaliauskas in 2012, Nord Security aims to restore trust in digital networks by protecting consumer and enterprise accounts, networks, and information against advanced cyberthreats.
The company helps consumers and businesses to enhance their security and privacy protections through a holistic suite of products. The company’s product range includes:
- VPN service – NordVPN
- Password manager – NordPass
- Encrypted cloud storage – NordLocker
- Network access security solution – NordLayer
- Consumer cybersecurity company – Surfshark
Nord Security’s suite of products is used by a range of businesses, including Calendly, Adobe, Shutterstock, and Vinted. The company operates in 20 countries and is continuing to expand rapidly with over 200 open positions and 50 per cent YoY headcount growth.
Investor
Novator Ventures is an international growth equity fund that seeks to identify disruptive trends driven by digitisation or technological innovation.
Birgir Már Ragnarsson, managing partner at Novator Ventures, who will join Nord Security’s board, says, “Modern internet security requires a completely new approach to address the secular growth of risks from expanding data regulations and ever-worsening cyberthreats. Tom and his team are well-positioned to deliver and usher in the new era of internet security with a powerful and best-in-class suite of privacy and security tools, designed to protect information, accounts, and networks. It’s rare to find a company that can already demonstrate such an excellent track record, brand credibility, and unwavering focus on serving customers, so we are delighted to partner with Nord Security to support the team as they execute their vision at scale.”
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