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Lumu raises $30M Series B to optimize enterprise cybersecurity operations

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg

 Lumu, a cybersecurity startup that helps enterprise organizations illuminate threats and isolate confirmed instances of security compromises, today announced it has closed a $30 million Series B round led by Forgepoint Capital. Existing investors BIP Ventures, Exceptional Capital and SIMMA Capital participated in the round.

SOC analysts face soaring alert volumes and false positives amid high-pressure situations where small mistakes have severe consequences, said Lumu CEO Ricardo Villadiego, in an interview with Refresh Miami. “Cybersecurity is a very complex problem and the magic of Lumu and why we are getting the traction that we’re getting is because we make it very simple for the operator – simplicity of deployment, simplicity of operation, and a high return for the companies.”

Lumu’s new funding comes at a time when ransomware payouts are on track to reach almost $900 million, the second highest year to date. Lumu’s solution enables continuously monitoring of network traffic in real time, empowering analysts to more effectively identify and automate responses to network threats using their current security stacks. As a result, Villadiego says, security and risk professionals can minimize the impact of cybercrime in organizations of all sizes and the market is validating that: Lumu was recently ranked a leader by Forrester in network analysis and visibility and by GigaOm in network detection and response.

“Zero trust deployments have been challenged with limited visibility into threat actors affecting users beyond the traditional defenses. Lumu brings these attack vectors to light, easily integrates with other defense tools and provides real-time compromise visibility across all stages of the kill chain,” Forgepoint Capital Managing Director Leo Casusol, who is joining the Lumu’s board, said in a statement. “Lumu allows businesses to address threats, contain lateral movement, improve security posture and scale the impact of their security teams without adding extra headcount in a tight talent market.”

At a time with the cybersecurity is in transformation and companies are refreshing their approach to cybersecurity operations, Lumu has been growing at a validating 133% year-over-year sustained since the inception of the company, Villadiego said.

The Series B funding announced today will be used to to expand the company’s global customer acquisition and go-to-market strategies, particularly in the US, Lumu’s biggest market, Brazil and Mexico. Lumu will also ramp up its R&D investments.

Lumu’s new round is bucking the VC trends. Crunchbase reported that venture funding for cybersecurity startups nationwide dropped to just slightly more than $1.6 billion in Q2 2023, a 63% drop from the same quarter last year when startups attracted nearly $4.3 billion. To date, Lumu has raised $38 million.

The startup is a team of 110 people, between North America, Brazil and Mexico. About 25 of them work from the company’s Doral offices, Villadiego said.

The Colombia-born serial entrepreneur is a cybersecurity veteran.  He previously founded and ran Easy Solutions, and Manny Medina was one of his first major backers. Prior to that, Villadiego, an engineer, held positions at IBM, Internet Security Systems and Unisys Corporation, before finding his passion in building startups.

After selling Easy Solutions, Villadiego founded Lumu in mid-2019. In 2021, Lumu became part of the SoftBank Opportunity Fund’s community of visionary Black, Latinx and Native American entrepreneurs and was one of SoftBank Group’s first investments in its $100M Miami Initiative.

“Miami is at the center of my entrepreneurial story,” Villadiego said. “I couldn’t find a better city to continue to expand Lumu than being here in Miami.”

This report has been updated. Follow Nancy Dahlberg on X @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected].

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