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Twenty-Something Cybersecurity Entrepreneur Nabs $50 Million ​Investment from Fidelity

By January 25, 2016Article

Fidelity​, a global investment management firm based in Boston with $2 trillion in assets under management, has invested $50 million into San Jose, Calif.-based Malwarebytes. The Series D round of funding follows a $30 million Series A funding round in July 2014, led by Highland Capital Partners.

“Malware is an epidemic attacking businesses and governments worldwide, as evidenced by recent high-profile breaches,” said Marcin Kleczynski, the 25-year-old CEO of Malwarebytes, in a press release. “Of course, it’s an honor to be backed by Fidelity – the same company that has backed disruptive, high-growth privately held technology companies like Uber, Airbnb and SpaceX. Our unique business model has allowed us to attain rapid growth while driving consistent profitability and cash flow. We will continue to hire more talented engineers to help us fight malware and accelerate Malwarebytes’ strategic sales, marketing and future product initiatives in our fast-growing enterprise business,” added Kleczynski.

Malwarebytes is in the top 100 on the Cybersecurity 500 list of the world’s hottest and most innovative cybersecurity companies, published by Cybersecurity Ventures.​

Kleczynski was a teenager who was determined to clean malware off his mother’s computer that he used for gaming when he started up Malwarebytes. ​He went from windy city whiz kid to Silicon Valley entrepreneur leading a​ fast-growing​ ​$100 million, ​300-person cybersecurity company. 

If Fidelity is betting on a rise in cyber crime to fuel Malwarebyte’s growth, then they are making a smart bet. Cyber crime costs are projected to reach $2 trillion by 2019. As goes cyber crime, so goes the cybersecurity market, which is expected to grow from $75 billion in 2015 to $175 billion by 2020.​​​

Does Malwarebytes have an IPO in its future? Fresh off the heels of landing its latest funding, the company isn’t talking about that now. But if the latest malware company IPO is any indication, Malwarebytes will certainly be a valuable public offering​ if and when the time comes. UK-based anti-malware firm Sophos recently raised $125 million when it went public and became the largest ever IPO for a UK software company. Sophos was worth $1.6 billion when it went public in June 2015.

Steve Morgan is founder and CEO at Cybersecurity Ventures and editor-in-chief of the Cybersecurity Market Report and the Cybersecurity 500 list of the world’s hottest and most innovative cybersecurity companies. Follow Steve on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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