Duo Security today announced its Series D funding that puts the company in unicorn territory. The company raised $70 million led by Meritech Capital Partners and Lead Edge Capital at a valuation of $1.17 billion. This funding round brings the company’s total amount raised to $119 million.
This round included new investors, Index Ventures and Workday, that latter of which joins as a strategic partner, as well as existing investors Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures.
The Michigan-based SaaS company was founded in 2010 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which it still calls home though it has since opened offices in Austin; San Mateo, Calif.; and London and now employs more than 500 globally. The company says it now works with more than 10,000 companies and has more than doubled its annual recurring revenue for the past four years.
In May 2017 at TechCrunch Disrupt SF Duo Security’s founder Dug Song said Duo makes security easy for organizations at scale. The company’s main product is a two-factor authentication app — which TechCrunch’s parent company uses and I’ve found it works fine — but Duo also offers other security products to secure users and their devices.
“Cybersecurity is the biggest geopolitical issue of our time” Duo Security CEO Dug Song said. “When Duo started, our mission was to democratize security, now we’re securing democracy. Duo has only scratched the surface of addressing the need to deliver simple and effective security globally. There are many more organizations that Duo could help protect, and in the journey ahead, we hope to reach them all.”
Song says the new investment will help accelerate the company’s technical innovations and operations as well as securing new partnerships.
Yet despite the growth the SaaS company does not see a need to leave Michigan for Silicon Valley or New York.
“Ann Arbor is our home,” Song said. “With more than 350 employees based here, we’re proud of our Michigan roots and our heritage of global cybersecurity innovation in Southeastern Michigan. The region has a wellspring of talent that we will continue to invest in and hire from, and attract talent from outside the state as well.”
“In the same way the synergy between San Francisco and San Jose created Silicon Valley, a resurgent Michigan is being driven by regional collaboration between Ann Arbor and Detroit,” he added. “We look at the current momentum occurring in Detroit as an opportunity to further accelerate the development of the tech community regionally and look forward to contributing to the city’s revitalization in any way we can.”
Duo Security’s Dug Song On Company Priorities