Silicon Valley VC leads $20M funding round for Expel

Herndon, Va.–based cybersecurity company Expel raised $20 million in Series B funding, the company announced on Tuesday.

The round was led by Scale Venture Partner, a Silicon Valley–based venture firm that focuses on the “future of work.” Existing investors in the company including Battery Ventures, Greycroft, Lightbank, NEA, Paladin Capital Group and Profile Capital Management also participated.

Security for the other 99 percent — TL;DR: We got more money to keep doing the things we love doing. Click away to read @davemerkel rant a bit. https://t.co/HoLx0GW5Db (3 min read) pic.twitter.com/nHdnmNrljp

— Expel (@ExpelSecurity) April 10, 2018

Expel, which is run by former Mandiant chief technologist Dave Merkel, is taking aim at the market for managed security services, which provide companies with monitoring and management of systems to protect a network. The company combines software and analysts to monitor a network and root out threats.

Another way Expel looks to differentiate is through how it communicates potential security issues. Instead of alerts, the company aims to send clear info about threats that are important, as well as how to address them.

“Security is now a board-level concern. But even when companies make responsible and sustained investments, security teams are stretched by too many products delivering reams of alerts without enough security talent to prioritize them,” Ariel Tseitlin, partner at Scale Venture Partners said in a statement. Tsetilin will join Expel’s board. “Expel amplifies existing security investments through clear, transparent managed security that helps chief information security officers (CISOs) effectively manage risk.”

Twenty-month-old Expel will use the funding to move forward in product development and go-to-market.