Contrast Security joined the Unicorn Club on November 9, 2021, after raising a $150 million Series E funding round led by Liberty Strategic Capital, valuing the company at $1 billion. Headquartered in Los Altos, California, United States, Contrast Security delivers a unified platform for application vulnerability detection and runtime protection. The company has raised $261 million to date and employs 257 people (as of December 2022).
Keep reading to explore how Contrast Security is redefining modern application security through continuous testing and real-time threat detection.
What Is Contrast Security and What Does It Do?
Founded in 2014, Contrast Security offers an application security platform that combines Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) and Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) into a single, integrated solution. Its instrumentation-based approach embeds security sensors directly into applications to detect vulnerabilities and prevent attacks in real time.
The platform continuously monitors software behavior across development, testing, and production environments, providing developers with actionable security insights. Initially supporting Java, .NET, and ColdFusion, Contrast Security has since expanded to cover multiple languages and frameworks.
By integrating security directly into the software development lifecycle, Contrast enables enterprises to detect and remediate vulnerabilities more quickly, thereby significantly reducing risk exposure and enhancing DevSecOps efficiency.
How Much Funding Has Contrast Security Raised?
- Series E
- Amount Raised: $150M
- Date: November 9, 2021
- Lead Investor: Liberty Strategic Capital
- Valuation: $1B
- Purpose: To accelerate product innovation and expand the company’s go-to-market strategy for its application security platform.
- Series D
- Amount Raised: $65M
- Date: February 2020
- Lead Investor: Warburg Pincus
- Valuation: Undisclosed
- Purpose: Enhance global expansion, grow R&D capabilities, and develop advanced runtime protection features.
- Earlier Rounds (Seed to Series C)
- Cumulative Funding: $46M
- Key Investors: General Catalyst, Acero Capital, and AXA Venture Partners
- Purpose: Strengthen its DevSecOps integrations, expand IAST coverage, and accelerate adoption in enterprise environments.
Total Funding Raised: $261M
Latest Funding Date: November 9, 2021
Latest Valuation: $1B
Employee Count: 257 (as of December 31, 2022)
Key Investors
- Liberty Strategic Capital
- Details: A private equity firm founded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, investing in technology and cybersecurity firms.
- Focus Areas: Cybersecurity, fintech, and data infrastructure.
- Warburg Pincus
- Details: Leading global private equity investor with a strong track record in growth-stage technology companies.
- Focus Areas: Enterprise software, security, and SaaS.
- Founders Circle Capital
- Details: Investment firm supporting high-growth technology companies through liquidity and growth financing.
- Focus Areas: Late-stage SaaS, DevOps, and cloud infrastructure.
- The Private Shares Fund
- Details: Investment fund focusing on pre-IPO and late-stage venture-backed companies.
- Focus Areas: Enterprise software, cloud security, and AI-driven analytics.
Where Is Contrast Security’s Headquarters?
Contrast Security is headquartered in Los Altos, California, United States. The company also operates regional offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to support its global customer base of enterprise developers and security professionals.
What’s Next for Contrast Security?
With its latest funding and unicorn valuation milestone, Contrast Security plans to enhance its application security observability capabilities, strengthen its DevSecOps integrations, and expand coverage for modern frameworks, including containers and serverless environments. The company aims to become the default security layer for developers, enabling continuous protection throughout the entire software lifecycle.
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