Talon Cyber Security Ltd., the developer of a specialized browser designed to help enterprises reduce the risk of data breaches, today announced that it has raised $100 million in funding.

Evolution Equity Partners led the Series A round. It was joined by more than a half-dozen other investors including George Kurtz, chief executive of publicly traded cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Falcon Fund, an investment fund that CrowdStrike runs in partnership with Accel, participated as well.

The round included $17 million in SAFE investments that it had announced earlier this year. A SAFE, or simple agreement for future equity, is a means of raising funding that’s popular among early-stage startups. In such deals, investors provide funding to a startup and receive shares at a later date if certain conditions are met. 

Tel Aviv-based Talon provides a browser, TalonWork, that a company’s employees can use to access the cloud applications they use for their work. TalonWork is based on Chromium, the open-source browser engine that powers Google Chrome. What sets it apart from Chrome is an array of cybersecurity features designed to block hacking attempts.

The first set of cybersecurity features in TalonWork focuses on blocking cyberattacks that target users’ installations of the browser. According to Talon, TalonWork’s configuration settings are optimized to make it less susceptible to hacking. The startup has also added features that block cyberattacks targeting the browser’s rendering engine, the component responsible for processing multimedia content in web pages.

Administrators can manage employees’ TalonWork installations through a cloud-based dashboard. According to Talon, the dashboard highlights potentially malicious browser extensions that were downloaded without authorization from the information technology team. It also helps with related tasks, such as downloading security updates.

In addition to stopping hacking attempts that target the TalonWork browser itself, Talon offers features for protecting the cloud applications accessed by users. The startup says that its browser can prevent hackers from gaining access to a company’s cloud applications. 

TalonWork is capable of scanning files uploaded to a cloud service for malware. In situations where there’s a risk of hackers stealing business data, the browser can encrypt files before they’re downloaded. TalonWork also makes it possible to limit access to the key features of a cloud application. 

Talon provides its core breach prevention features alongside monitoring tools for detecting potential cybersecurity risks. TalonWork enables administration to detect cloud services that are used without authorization from the IT team. Additionally, TalonWork provides technical data about network connections that IT teams can consult when carrying out breach investigations.

According to Talon, a key differentiator of its browser-centric approach to cybersecurity is that it simplifies the user experience. Packaging breach prevention features into a browser reduces the need for employees to use complex, standalone cybersecurity software. Talon promises to ease IT teams’ work as well: The startup says TalonWork can be rolled out across a company in as little as one hour. 

“We have built the team and technology to redefine and power security for the future of work – a future where security is delivered naturally through the enterprise’s most heavily used application: the browser,” said Talon co-founder and CEO Ofer Ben-Noon. “The world and the applications the Global 2000 rely on are moving to the web, creating a dire need for a vehicle that can provide secure access without changing the way work is conducted.”

Talon launched TalonWork in October 2021 and claims to have since amassed “numerous customer deployments at large organizations.” The startup will use its new $100 million funding round to further grow its installed base by expanding go-to-market activities. Talon also plans to invest in feature development. 

Image: Talon