In a recent development, Chainguard, a start-up known for its focus on secure open-source components, successfully raised a substantial amount of $356 million in its Series D round. This significant funding was led by renowned investors Kleiner Perkins and IVP, with Salesforce Ventures and Datadog Ventures also contributing to the round. With this fresh injection of capital, Chainguard’s total funding has now reached an impressive $612 million, ultimately valuing the company at a remarkable $3.5 billion. CEO Dan Lorenc expressed enthusiasm over the company’s recent growth, noting a substantial increase in revenue from $5 million to $40 million. Additionally, it was highlighted that Chainguard now caters to over 100 paying enterprise customers, showcasing a strong and growing customer base.
Founded by former Google engineers, Chainguard initially started by offering pre-secured Linux container images tailored for Kubernetes environments. Over time, the company’s product portfolio expanded significantly from 400 to 1,400 container images within just a year. A key driver of Chainguard’s success lies in its innovative “software factory,” an automated system designed to patch and sign over 13,000 upstream open-source packages. This robust infrastructure now extends its support to Chainguard VMs and Chainguard Libraries, both of which are specifically developed to enhance security measures for open-source solutions aimed at enterprise clients.
Some notable organizations, including ANZ Bank, Canva, GitLab, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Snap Inc., have all chosen Chainguard as their preferred provider. The company’s offerings are strategically curated to fortify the open-source software supply chain, an area that has become increasingly critical in light of rising security threats and incidents. By expanding its catalog and enhancing security solutions, Chainguard aims to streamline the maintenance requirements for enterprises relying on open-source components on a daily basis.
Looking ahead, Chainguard has outlined plans to utilize the recent funding to bolster its engineering and sales teams, with a primary focus on securing a larger share of open-source projects. Given the surge in supply chain security incidents, Chainguard’s solutions are viewed as indispensable tools for compliance teams striving to maintain robust security measures. The company’s overarching goal is to position itself as the trusted “safe source” for open-source software by consistently fortifying and securing software across all layers of the technology stack.
In conclusion, Chainguard’s successful funding round signifies a major milestone for the company as it continues to make strides in the realm of secure open-source components. With a strong financial backing and a growing roster of satisfied clients, Chainguard is well-positioned to lead the way in safeguarding the open-source ecosystem against evolving threats and vulnerabilities.