Grip Security Raises $19M Series A for SaaS Security Platform

Grip Security Secures $19 Million Series A Funding

Grip Security, a startup headquartered in Tel Aviv specializing in data protection within SaaS applications, has announced the successful completion of a $19 million Series A funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Intel Capital, with continued participation from YL Ventures, who previously led the company’s $6 million seed funding round earlier this year.

The total funding secured by Grip now amounts to $25 million. According to Lior Yaari, Grip’s CEO and co-founder, despite being a relatively new company – officially established in February – the firm demonstrated substantial growth to investors.

Rapid User Growth and Customer Acquisition

Yaari highlighted the impressive tenfold quarterly growth in the number of users covered by their product. Over the past nine months, Grip has onboarded a diverse clientele, ranging from Fortune 500 enterprises to smaller startup organizations.

The Limitations of Traditional CASB Solutions

Traditionally, organizations have relied on cloud access security brokers (CASBs) to mediate access between employees and SaaS services. The intention is to provide IT departments with comprehensive visibility into user access and service utilization.

However, in practice, employees frequently circumvent these security measures, complicating data governance and potentially rendering it ineffective.

Shifting the Conversation Around SaaS Security

“Our initial pitches focused on explaining the expanding landscape of SaaS,” Yaari stated. “Now, the conversation has evolved to simply asking how companies are currently addressing the challenges.”

He further explained that many organizations still rely on outdated methods like manual spreadsheets, which quickly become inaccurate, or legacy technologies that generate numerous false positives and lack actionable insights.

Grip’s Rapid SaaS Inventory and Evolving Vision

Grip asserts its ability to deliver a complete SaaS inventory to businesses within just 15 minutes of installation, without requiring agents or proxies. This capability alone provides significant value to its users.

Through interactions with early adopters, the team gained valuable insights into the daily struggles faced by security teams. This led to an expanded vision focused on addressing these challenges.

Towards Comprehensive Access Management

“We aim to develop an enforceable, comprehensive access management solution,” Yaari explained. “Currently, a user can potentially access a SaaS application from a personal device outside the corporate network.”

He emphasized that traditional SaaS security solutions often rely on network security paradigms, leaving users vulnerable when accessing applications remotely or if an employee’s credentials have been compromised.

Enforcing Access Policies and Future Plans

Leveraging its knowledge of all applications used within a company, Grip intends to enable organizations to enforce access policies based on established guidelines. The launch of this new solution is planned for the coming months.

Intel Capital’s Perspective

Sunil Kurkure, managing director at Intel Capital, commented, “Grip has pinpointed the gaps in SaaS security and delivered a practical, accessible, and impactful solution.”

He added that Grip’s swift and straightforward deployment process has the potential to revolutionize how SaaS security integrates with business operations, contrasting with existing products that often require lengthy deployment times and hinder innovation.

Correction

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the total funding raised by Grip in the last nine months ($25 million) in the headline. The correct amount for this Series A round is $19 million.