Cybersecurity Firm Acronis Secures $250 Million in Funding

With the increasing prominence of cybersecurity in today’s threat landscape, Acronis, a vendor specializing in comprehensive security IT solutions, has successfully completed a substantial funding round.

The company has secured $250 million in equity financing. Co-founder and CEO Serguei Beloussov stated the funds will be allocated to both organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. These acquisitions will focus on integrating more proactive technologies into their existing portfolio.

Funding Details and Company Valuation

This funding round was led by CVC, resulting in a valuation of Acronis exceeding $2.5 billion.

Initially emerging as a spin-off from Parallels, Acronis initially gained recognition for its data recovery and backup capabilities. However, the company has strategically broadened its service offerings to distinguish itself from competitors such as Commvault, Veeam, and Barracuda.

Acronis now provides an integrated suite of services, encompassing continuous data protection, patch management, and advanced anti-malware protection.

Business Growth and Customer Base

The company’s business is currently profitable, demonstrating strong performance. It currently serves approximately 10,000 managed service providers (MSPs) and 500,000 businesses, ranging from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMBs).

“While we didn’t require additional capital, this investment will enable us to accelerate our growth and solidify our market leadership,” Beloussov explained.

Revenue Growth and Future Investments

Revenues generated from newer products, like Acronis Cyber Protect, experienced a 100% increase during the pandemic. The company is prioritizing investment in engineering talent and mergers & acquisitions to enhance its cyber protection capabilities.

“Our core mission is to safeguard all data and applications, ensuring both privacy and security within a unified package,” Beloussov added. “Currently, we protect around 10 million workloads, with a goal of expanding that to 100 times its current size. Improving the ease and depth of protection for our customers remains a key focus.”

Potential Exit Strategies

Although Acronis remains a private entity, the company is beginning to evaluate potential future options. These include a possible initial public offering (IPO) or a sale within the next 12 to 24 months.

Beloussov noted that private equity investors, including Goldman Sachs and CVC, typically anticipate a liquidity event at some point.

The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape

This funding and Acronis’s growth strategy are occurring during a pivotal moment in cybersecurity. The business world has witnessed a significant shift towards remote work, spanning wider geographic areas and utilizing a greater variety of devices.

While accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend is expected to result in a lasting change in work environments, with increased acceptance of remote work arrangements and minimal impact on productivity.

Increased Demand for Cybersecurity Solutions

This shift has fundamentally altered how IT departments provision and manage networks and devices, exposing vulnerabilities in existing cybersecurity policies. Malicious actors have exploited these weaknesses.

Consequently, Acronis has experienced increased demand for its services, particularly through its network of managed service providers.

The Importance of Outsourcing Security

“The past year has underscored the critical importance of IT for all businesses,” Beloussov stated, emphasizing the inherent link between IT and security. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of outsourcing security to specialized service providers to ensure consistent service levels.

“With internal IT staff, accountability is limited, but third-party providers operate under service-level agreements that offer greater enforceability.”

CVC Capital Partners’ Perspective

“Acronis’s dedicated management and R&D teams have made substantial investments in developing an innovative, cloud-native ‘MSP in a box’ solution,” said Leif Lindbäck, senior managing director of CVC Capital Partners. “This solution integrates backup, disaster recovery, cybersecurity, remote management, and workflow tools.”

“Acronis delivers essential solutions to over 10,000 MSPs and 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses. CVC has a proven history in cybersecurity and collaborating with successful entrepreneurs, and we are excited to partner with Serguei Beloussov and the Acronis team to accelerate the company’s expansion.”