Lithuanian startup, Nord Security, has just raised over €91.6 million at a valuation of over €1.4 billion – taking the company to the ranks of unicorn. The funding for this previously 100% bootstrapped company 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.
Technology is evolving rapidly, and for every new development and opportunity, it seems there’s also a new threat. Rapid digitalisation has also accelerated the adoption of devices and platforms that allow data to be shared more widely than ever, and society now has a hungry appetite for online interconnected technologies and networks.
Further, with an increase in remote working, consumers and businesses are now exposed to heightened cyber risks as the enterprise security perimeter blurs, and internet infrastructure is struggling to keep space. According to Nord, it’s thought that cybercrime will cost the global economy a staggering $10.5 trillion by 2025, and nearly half of consumers now expect to be hacked. It’s clear that to protect consumers, businesses and the broader digital economy in the long-term, a more holistic approach to online security is required.
This is what Nord aims to achieve, and this new unicorn title shows it is well placed to step up to the challenge.
Founded in 2012, Nord Security’s mission is to build a radically better internet and restore trust in digital networks, by securing consumer and enterprise accounts, networks and information against advanced cyberthreats. The company, which pioneered the mass-market consumer VPN category with NordVPN, aims to help consumers and businesses enhance their security and privacy protections with a holistic suite of products, which allow consumers and businesses to analyse, detect and contain threats at the edge of a network before they penetrate sensitive end-user devices.
Tom Okman, co-CEO and co-founder at Nord Security, said: “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.”
All of Nord Security’s products leverage its global success in the consumer market and incorporate best-in-class convenience, UX, adaptability and administration at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional solutions. Along with NordVPN, Nord Security’s intuitive and purpose-built internet security and privacy product suite includes NordPass (password manager), NordLocker (encrypted cloud storage), and NordLayer (network access security).
The founders, Tom Okman (co-CEO) and Eimantas Sabaliauskas (co-CEO), set up Nord to make internet security and privacy accessible to all. Today, Nord Security’s suite of products is trusted by millions of consumer users worldwide, as well as by a range of businesses, including the likes of Calendly, Adobe, Shutterstock and Vinted, for advanced threat protection against complex and evolving cyberthreats. Nord Security, which operates in 20 countries globally, is continuing to expand rapidly with over 200 open positions and 50% YoY headcount growth.
This funding also comes off the back of a key partnership deal made in February 2022, when the firm joined forces with Surfshark, one of the most popular consumer cybersecurity companies globally. This new investment will play a key role in accelerating Nord Security and Surfshark’s shared vision of providing people with modern privacy and security solutions. 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).
Looking to the future, this big capital boost will be used to make key hires at all levels and across every function, adding to Nord Security’s 1700-person team. Nord Security will also use the new financing to accelerate the expansion of its product suite and geographical footprint through acquisitive growth and intensive R&D on new platform features.
Birgir Már Ragnarsson, managing partner at Novator Ventures, who joins Nord Security’s board, added: “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.
