Security startup Tines in $11m fundraising
DUBLIN-BASED cybersecurity startup Tines has raised $11m (€9.9m) in Series A funding.
The round was led by global venture capital firm Accel. Index Ventures and Blossom Capital also participated.
This latest funding comes just weeks after the company raised $4.1m from Blossom Capital.
Founded just under two years ago by Eoin Hinchy and Thomas Kinsella, Tines provides technology tools to enterprise security teams, helping them automate repetitive, manual tasks.
In the space of 12 months, the firm has added 10 customers across a variety of industries, including Box, Auth0 and McKesson, with companies automating on average 100,000 actions per day.
These companies have relatively mature cybersecurity teams themselves.
The investment will be used to expedite Tines’ further expansion into the US and Europe. Mr Hinchy said: “The interest we’ve had in Tines and our rate of adoption among the world’s leading security teams has surprised even us.
“Partnering with investors that have a global footprint allows us to accelerate our expansion plans across Europe and the US.”
After the funding round, the founders of the company will still maintain a controlling interest in the business, Mr Hinchy said.
Tines has also carved out a “large percentage” of equity in the business for future employees.
“We want to grow this company right. There is this attitude traditionally that in order to build a world-class technology company, you have to be based in the United States. We disagree with that; we are competing in Ireland for talent from companies like Facebook and Google,” Mr Hinchy said.
“As a result, we need to compensate staff to the same level.”
Before founding the company, Mr Hinchy spent 15 years in “various cybersecurity teams”.
He said an issue facing companies is that there is “just not enough staff ” in the tech security area.
“When you do find them, they are doing the same repetitive tasks over and over and as a result, the actual security of the company is not improving all that much,” Mr Hinchy said.
While still in its infancy, the company has been profitable from “almost day one”.
Next year, revenue at the business is expected to be in the millions of euro, according to Mr Hinchy.
Currently, about 80pc of the firm’s revenue comes from the United States, specifically from technology companies in San Francisco’s Bay Area.