Zero Networks raises USD $55 M to expand microsegmentation

Zero Networks has secured USD $55 million in Series C funding to support its efforts in delivering network microsegmentation for cybersecurity defence.

The funding round was led by Highland Europe, with participation from F2 Venture Capital, PICO Venture Partners, Venrock, and U.S. Venture Partners. This brings Zero Networks' total capital raised to over USD $100 million. Jacob Bernstein, Principal at Highland Europe, will be joining the board of directors at Zero Networks as part of the investment agreement.

Since its previous funding round, Zero Networks has reported a tripling of its customer base and a doubling of its headcount. The company stated it has experienced over 300% revenue growth, which it attributes to increased enterprise focus on preventing lateral movement within networks and enforcing true zero-trust cybersecurity controls.

Lateral movement, a tactic frequently used in both ransomware and supply chain attacks, remains a significant vulnerability for organisations. Most existing security tools focus on perimeter defence, but once that is breached, attackers can often move through internal systems without detection for extended periods. Zero Networks claims its microsegmentation technology addresses this specific risk by restricting unauthorised movement inside organisational networks.

Microsegmentation has been recognised as an effective method for preventing lateral movement, but has usually been avoided due to its perceived complexity. Zero Networks has positioned its solution as an agentless, automated approach intended to reduce implementation challenges, making it accessible and scalable for enterprises of varying sizes. The company reports that this approach has contributed to its growth in both customer and revenue, as well as high customer satisfaction ratings.

The new funds will be allocated towards expanding Zero Networks' teams in sales, marketing, research and development, and customer support. Further investment will be made in go-to-market strategies across North America, EMEA, and APAC regions. The company also plans to continue development of its cybersecurity solutions using the new capital.

Benny Lakunishok, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Zero Networks, commented on the funding and the company's focus: "Microsegmentation has long been the crown jewel of network defence; praised for its effectiveness but abandoned because of its complexity. This funding raise validates everything we've claimed since day one: that we can make segmentation simple, scalable, and powerful enough to contain ransomware and stop lateral movement at its source. It also opens up a massive opportunity for every network defender out there to stop playing catch-up and start taking control."

In addition to microsegmentation, Zero Networks' platform includes solutions for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Identity Least Privilege controls. These features are integrated within a unified system and are designed to anchor enforcement in identity-based controls. The company states that its patented, multi-factor authentication technology supports least privilege access for all users, devices, and workloads, in line with zero-trust security principles.

Highland Europe's Jacob Bernstein, who now joins Zero Networks as a board member, described microsegmentation as a misunderstood yet essential security technique. He said, "Cybersecurity's most promising but often misunderstood tool is microsegmentation. This technique is essential to proactive zero trust architecture that prevents attacks by design rather than merely responding to them. Since the early days of evaluating Zero Networks, it was incredibly clear that their customers don't just like Zero – they love it."

"This is a testament to everyone from the founding team to their most recent hires at all levels, hand-picked to serve Zero's customers and build innovative solutions. I look forward to working closely with Zero Networks, a company that I believe is going to achieve phenomenal success and enormous outcomes for its customers."

Zero Networks' strategy with its latest funding is to solidify its presence in global markets and to invest in ongoing technological developments to address evolving cybersecurity threats in enterprise contexts. The ability to automate complex security tasks and integrate identity-based controls is central to the company's offering as it seeks to address known weaknesses in traditional network defences.