DataDome, a provider of bot protection services, has raised $42 million in a Series C funding round led by InfraVia Growth, with participation from Elephant and ISAI. The company uses machine learning to assess every request to a website, mobile app or API, and claims to analyze each traffic request anew, in real-time, using vulnerability scanning rules, device fingerprinting, and behavioral analysis. DataDome processes more than 3 trillion data signals every day and serves over 300 customers in various industries.
In recent years, online businesses have become increasingly vulnerable to bot-based attacks. According to a survey conducted by Imperva, 42.3% of internet traffic in 2021 was generated by bots, which can harm businesses by stealing content and inventory, degrading website and app performance, taking over accounts, and committing payment fraud. As a result, vendors selling bot-fighting technology are attracting significant investment. One such company is DataDome, a provider of bot protection services for mobile apps, websites, and APIs, which has just raised $42 million in a Series C funding round led by InfraVia Growth, with participation from Elephant and ISAI.
In the current macroeconomic climate, this is an impressive amount. Funding for cybersecurity startups fell by a third in 2022, from $22.8 billion in 2021 to $15.3 billion last year, according to Crunchbase data. Furthermore, the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse continues to impact startups’ ability to secure funding.
DataDome’s co-founder and CEO, Benjamin Fabre, has stated that the proceeds from the Series C funding round will be used to support the company’s commercial rollout and research and development efforts. DataDome was founded in 2015 by Fabre and Fabien Grenier, a long-time business partner, after they observed that most companies were unable to detect and block bots. They sought to build a platform that could prevent bot-based threats, but in a unique way – one that relies on machine learning to assess every request to a website, mobile app, or API.
DataDome is not the only company using this approach, however. Other companies, such as Kasada, ThreatX, and PerimeterX, also offer bot defense technology that relies on machine learning. What sets DataDome apart is that it analyzes each traffic request anew, in real-time, using techniques like vulnerability scanning rules, device fingerprinting, and behavioral analysis. The platform works with existing applications, offering features like a CAPTCHA to thwart bots, and it scales, processing more than 3 trillion data signals every day.
On the AI and machine learning side, DataDome uses several AI models to attempt to spot malicious bots. Once something abnormal has been detected, DataDome deploys a range of techniques, including data mining, to infer what caused the change. Post-detection, the detection signals are stored in a database, where they can be used to improve the quality of the detection and understand what happened during an attack or to train machine learning models.
Over the past few months, DataDome’s focus has been on rolling out its CAPTCHA product, according to Fabre, as well as new AI models to block bot threats from CAPTCHA-solve bots and CAPTCHA farms, plus improved analytics and reporting tools. Customers appear to be pleased with the trajectory, with revenue doubling since October 2021.
DataDome claims to have over 300 customers in industries such as e-commerce, media, travel, ticketing, healthcare, and the public sector. For these brands, the platform is protecting over 400,000 domains for more than 4,800 active users spread across the globe, from North America to Western Europe, India, and Australia.
“The pandemic created a massive shift toward all things online, which in turn expanded the automated threat landscape,” Fabre added. “Before, during, and after the height of COVID, our solution proves essential for digital businesses.”
In summary, bot-based attacks on online businesses are becoming increasingly common, and companies like DataDome are offering bot protection services to mitigate these threats. DataDome’s unique approach uses machine learning to assess every request to a website, mobile app, or API in real-time, and the company has just raised $
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