The market for SaaS application security tools and software platforms is growing fast. Venture capitalists, angel investors and entrepreneurs are moving aggressively into the SaaS security market.
MSPs and MSSPs, meanwhile, are seeking new ways to discover, properly configure, lock down and monitor SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps), Salesforce, Workday, Box, Dropbox and more.
On a related note, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools have also surfaced -- though CSPM is focused more on Infrastructure as a Service security for Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and more.
SaaS Security Startup Funding and Company List
Amid that backdrop, here's a list of SaaS security startups (sorted alphabetically), their business focus and their funding moves.
1. Adaptive Shield raised $4 million in seed funding led by Vertex Ventures Israel in August 2020. The company's software helps organizations "safely integrate Office 365, Slack, Zoom and other SaaS apps into their workflows," the company said. To do so, Adaptive Shield offers a platform that continuously monitors an organization’s SaaS apps and detects misconfigurations, incorrect permissions and potential exposures.
2. AppOmni raised $40 million in Series B funding in April 2021. Scale Venture Partners led the investment, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and ServiceNow Ventures. Existing investors including ClearSky, Costanoa Ventures, Inner Loop Capital and Silicon Valley Data Capital also participated.
3. DoControl raised $10 million in Series A financing in April 2021. CrowdStrike and several venture capital firms contributed to the financing round. Co-founder and CEO Adam Gavish previously was product manager for cloud security and privacy at Google Cloud. DoControl’s software provides organizations with “automated, self-service tools they need for SaaS applications data access monitoring, orchestration, and remediation,” the startup asserts.
4. Grip Security raised $6 million in seed funding led by venture capital firm YL Ventures. The round also featured participation from CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz and executives from other cybersecurity companies.
5. SaaS Alerts raised $1.2 million in early stage funding in March 2021. CEO Jim Lippie previously held executive posts at Kaseya and Thrive, a Top 100 Vertical Market MSP. SaaS Alerts is a cybersecurity company “purpose-built for MSPs to protect and monetize customers’ core SaaS business applications,” the firm says. With that focus in mind, SaaS Alerts offers a unified, real-time monitoring platform for MSPs to protect against data theft, data at risk and bad actors, the company adds.
6. SailPoint Technologies acquired Intello in February 2021. Intello, ahead of the deal, was an early-stage SaaS management company that helps organizations to discover, manage, and secure SaaS applications
7. Torii raised $10 million in January 2021 to expand a SaaS management software platform. Torii’s platform is designed to help customers automate the discovery, spend optimization, operations and compliance of SaaS applications. Initial Torii integrations span Atlassian, Box, Dropbox, JumpCloud, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Slack, Workday, Zendesk, Zoom and many other options.
SaaS Security for MSPs
Of the SaaS security startups listed above, SaaS Alerts has most specifically and aggressively vowed to support MSPs as partners.
Note: Blog originally published on April 20, 2021. Updated thereafter with new SaaS security funding developments.
