Tenable Network Security raises record-setting $250 million

Columbia-based Tenable Network Security closed a $250 million investment round, the cybersecurity company announced Tuesday.
The Series B round was led by Insight Venture Partners and Accel, and brings the company’s total capital raise to $300 million. Accel previously invested $50 million in the company’s 2012 Series A.
Reuters confirms that the round is a record raise in the cybersecurity industry. And it’s a huge deal by Maryland standards, where all companies receiving investment combined to total $144 million in the third quarter of 2015.
Tenable CFO Steve Vintz said the company has been profitable since inception, but has seen lots of changes in the last year.
“We made a lot of changes this year, and those changes necessitate capital,” he said.
Company figures state Tenable has 1 million users across private-sector clients like Visa, Adidas and Microsoft, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is currently in 10 countries, like London, Munich and Singapore. Over the next year, it’s looking to add 10 more, including China, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and India.
Vintz said the company would also look to expand sales capabilities, and consider acquisitions to add technology offerings.
“There is an opportunity to potentially acquire technologies that are maybe point products, that serve a specific need in a broader product platform,” he said.
Asked whether the company was eying an IPO, Vintz said only that the company was “considering all options” going forward.
The company now has 600 employees, and has hired more than 200 new employees this year. About half of those employees are at the company’s Columbia headquarters.