Salt Security Inc., a startup focused on protecting application programming interfaces from cyberattacks, has raised $140 million in new funding after increasing revenue fivefold over the past year.

Alphabet Inc.’s CapitalG investment arm led the funding round, which was announced by Salt Security today. The Palo Alto, California-based startup is now valued at $1.4 billion.

APIs are the interface through which applications exchange data with one another. The API of a database enables other applications to retrieve the business records that it stores and add new information. The API of a public cloud platform, meanwhile, can be used to perform tasks such as provisioning new virtual machines. 

Because of their key role in companies’ information technology environments, APIs are a major target for hackers. Compromising the API of a database, for example, may theoretically enable hackers to steal sensitive business records. Salt Security has developed a cloud-based platform that helps companies prevent such API cyberattacks. 

Salt Security’s platform focuses on blocking two main types of cybersecurity risks: accidental data breaches and hacking campaigns. 

Like any other software component, an application’s API can potentially contain vulnerabilities. For example, the API of a business intelligence tool might be accidentally configured in a way that enables users outside the company to retrieve sensitive business data. Salt Security platform’s can automatically detect such issues and notify the information technology team.

The ability to automate the API security evaluation process has several benefits, Salt Security says. One is that companies can scan for issues more often than is practical with manual assessments, which require a significant amount of time and effort. Moreover, the startup says, its platform is capable of detecting application APIs that are unknown to the IT department and determine if they contain any vulnerabilities. 

Besides detecting vulnerabilities, Salt Security’s platform also helps companies block API-focused cyberattacks. The platform leverages machine learning to evaluate how an application’s API is typically used. If there’s a sudden change in usage patterns, for example because an application requested an unusually large amount of sensitive business data, Salt Security can determine that a cyberattack may be underway and block the threat. 

Salt Security said today that its revenue increased fivefold over the past year thanks to strong demand. The startup didn’t disclose absolute numbers, but detailed that its customer base has tripled in 2020 thanks partly to a 900% increase in the number of Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies using its platform.

One factor that may be contributing to Salt Security’s rapid growth is that its platform is relatively easy to use. Customers don’t have to make any network configuration changes or modify their applications’ code to use the software. For a company with 50 applications, that means 50 fewer applications to modify, which significantly lowers the entry barrier for new customers.

The ability to deploy a cybersecurity solution without making major code changes is especially valuable when it comes to mission-critical workloads. The simpler the deployment process, the lower the risk of errors that may disrupt a mission-critical business workflow. 

“Our investment in Salt Security comes at a time of critical importance for the wider business community,” said CapitalG Partner James Luo. “APIs are essential to enabling business innovation, but security risks are multiplying at an unprecedented scope and scale. Salt took an innovative, best-in-class approach to building its API security platform leveraging cloud-scale big data, allowing it to effectively detect and stop attacks in the wild while not compromising on strong shift left capabilities.” 

Salt Security said its latest funding round will go toward product development, sales and marketing. The company also plans to grow its international presence.

Photo: Salt Security