Fast-growing “internet of things” security provider Armis Inc. today announced that it has closed a $300 million investment to expand go-to-market activities and make acquisitions.

The investment was led by One Equity Partners with participation from existing investors. Armis is now valued at $3.4 billion, up from $2 billion after its previous funding round in February.

Insight Partners, which acquired Armis in 2020 for $1.1 billion, will continue to retain a majority stake. Armis has raised $600 million in funding to date.

Palo Alto, California-based Armis provides a cybersecurity platform for blocking hacking attempts that target enterprise IoT systems. The company’s platform can also identify device vulnerabilities that may lead to cyberattacks in the future. Armis says that its software can protect a variety of systems ranging from employee laptops to medical equipment and industrial gear.

One of the main selling points of Armis’ platform is that it takes a so-called agentless approach to detecting threats. Cybersecurity tools need to collect technical data from the systems they protect to identify malicious activity. Normally, threat data is collected by installing a software program known as an agent on each device. Armis’ platform doesn’t require installing agents. 

Removing the need to deploy agents simplifies operations because it’s not always possible or practical to install cybersecurity software on connected devices. Some devices lack the processing power or memory necessary to run software agents. Others feature specialized operating systems with limited support for traditional cybersecurity tools.

After a company deploys Armis’ platform in an IoT environment, the software maps out all the systems connected to the network and identifies unpatched vulnerabilities. Armis also detects hacking attempts by consulting security data from its installed base of more than 1 billion devices.

To simplify information technology teams’ work, Armis provides several automation features that promise to streamline common cybersecurity tasks.

One of the ways companies reduce the impact of breaches is by implementing an approach known as network segmentation. It enables an organization to isolate systems from one another where practical to limit hackers’ ability to spread malware across devices. The technique can be difficult to apply consistently in large environments with many devices. According to Armis, its platform eases the task by automatically generating network segmentation rules.

To complement its other features, Armis provides an automation engine that allows administrators to create workflows for common tasks. Workflows can be configured to activate in response to specific events. A company might, for example, use the feature to automatically run vulnerability scans every time a new device is added to the network.

Armis says that it’s one of the industry’s fastest-growing cybersecurity companies. The startup disclosed today that its revenues have grown more than 8,000% over the last three years, but didn’t share absolute numbers.

Armis will use the new funding round to support continued growth by investing in go-to-market initiatives and making strategic acquisitions. The company will partner with One Equity Partners, with the lead investor in the funding round, to support its growth effort.

“OEP and Armis see great value in quickly deploying the industry-leading asset security capabilities of Armis across global companies within the OEP portfolio,” said One Equity Partners Managing Director Andrew Dunn. “Given our experience in the cybersecurity market, we also plan to assist Armis in quickly extending its asset security leadership through strategic acquisitions.”

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