Data security startup Cyera is closing a new funding round of at least $300 million at a $12 billion valuation, led by Evolution Equity Partners, according to TechCrunch AI. Four people with knowledge of the deal confirmed the terms. Calcalist reported the funding first, but TechCrunch AI added fresh detail on the company’s finances, and the picture is striking: this is a company growing fast, burning cash hard, and commanding a price tag that makes even hot AI startups look cheap.
What stands out here is the math. Cyera has passed $150 million in annual recurring revenue, three sources told TechCrunch AI. At a $12 billion valuation, that’s roughly 80 times ARR. For context, many fast-growing AI companies raise at 30x to 50x. Eighty is its own category.
📊 The numbers behind the deal
- Round size: at least $300 million, led by Evolution Equity Partners
- Valuation: $12 billion
- ARR: north of $150 million
- Multiple: about 80x ARR
- Total capital raised: at least $2 billion since founding in 2021
The company isn’t profitable. Sources told TechCrunch AI that Cyera is spending faster than it earns, with a chunk of that going to sales hiring. PitchBook data shows the company added 500 jobs this year alone. A Cyera spokesperson pushed back, telling TechCrunch AI that “the numbers cited are factually and significantly inaccurate.” Evolution Equity Partners didn’t respond to a request for comment.
⚡ Why the speed matters
This round lands just five months after Cyera announced a $400 million Series F at a $9 billion valuation, led by Blackstone. That earlier round drew a who’s who of investors: Accel, Coatue, Lightspeed, Redpoint, Sapphire, Sequoia, and Cyberstarts, among others. Going from $9 billion to $12 billion in under half a year tells you how hungry investors are for this category right now.
The reason is the thing Cyera sells. As attackers start weaponizing AI to find and exfiltrate sensitive data, enterprises are scrambling to protect what’s sitting in their cloud storage. Cyera’s platform scans, classifies, and secures that data. When it raised its Series F, the company said its customers made up one-fifth of the Fortune 500 and that revenue more than tripled in 2025.
🛡️ What it means for the AI security race
Cyera isn’t just raising money. It’s spending it on acquisitions. The company has scooped up Index Ventures-backed Ryft and Genie Security, a startup less than a year old. That’s a land-grab strategy: use cheap capital to consolidate a young market before competitors catch up. We’ve seen this playbook in other booming sectors, and it usually signals investors expect a winner-take-most outcome.
This is significant because data security is becoming the quiet backbone of enterprise AI adoption. Companies want to deploy AI tools, but they can’t until they know where their sensitive data lives and who can touch it. That’s the wedge Cyera is driving into, and it’s why investors are willing to pay a premium that would make a value investor wince.
The risk is just as obvious. An 80x multiple on an unprofitable company assumes growth keeps compounding and the spending eventually flips to profit. If the AI security boom cools, or if a larger player like Palo Alto or CrowdStrike decides to compete head-on, that valuation gets tested fast.
🔭 What to watch next
- Whether the round closes at the reported $12 billion or shifts after Cyera’s pushback on the figures
- More acquisitions, since the company is clearly in buy-mode
- Whether spending starts bending toward profitability, or keeps climbing
- How rivals respond to a competitor now sitting on $2 billion in total capital
For practitioners, the takeaway is simple. Data security is no longer a back-office line item. It’s becoming a strategic gate for AI deployment, and the money flooding into Cyera says the market expects that demand to keep growing. Whether an 80x bet pays off is the open question. For now, investors are betting big that it does. Full details are available at the original TechCrunch AI report.