Israeli startup PerimeterX announced today that it is merging with US company HUMAN Security. Both companies are engaged in protection against malicious bots and fraud although in different sectors. HUMAN Security serves the media and protects them from fraudulent clicks that generate fake entries into ads, while PerimeterX protects ecommerce sites from theft of credit card details. While HUMAN Security is strong in Asia and Europe, PerimeterX is strongest in North America.
The merger is mainly a share deal with a small amount of capital. No details were disclosed about how the sharers in the joint company will be divided. However, it is clear that HUMAN Security will hold the controlling stake in the merged company and give the new company its name.
PerimeterX has about 210 employees, half of them in Israel. The new company will expand its R&D center, adding about 50 new employees in Israel in a variety of positions, joining HUMAN’s global team of more than 450. The merged company will have more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue, over 500 customers, and a market opportunity of more than $30 billion.
PerimeterX was founded in 2014 by Omri Iluz, Ido Safruti, and Ophir Ashkenazi. The company raised a total of $144 million as of February 2021, when it raised $57 million in its fourth financing round. Investors in PerimeterX include Vertex Ventures, Canaan Partners, Salesforce Ventures and Deutsche Telekom.
HUMAN, which was founded in 2012 as White Ops, was acquired in 2020 by Goldman Sachs, ClearSky and NightDragon for an undisclosed amount.
PerimeterX cofounders Omri Iluz and Ido Sarfuti will join HUMAN’s board of directors and Safruti will serve as the merged company’s CTO. As part of the merger agreement, the Israeli company employees will receive stock options in the new company and financial grants.
Iluz said, "The current merger is a major milestone during a time of growth for both companies. The connection now as HUMAN will enable us to continue growing and to focus on the company’s expansion strategy as it becomes the market leader in managing cyber defence systems for internet accounts.
"The integrated protection will facilitate detection and prevent theft, validation and illegal use of private accounts on the websites defended by our products. The merger will greatly strengthen the value proposition we give our customers and allow us to provide holistic cybersecurity solutions and defence against bots across all relevant platforms - both on the e-commerce side and on the website and media operational side.
"The close attention we pay to our customers’ needs, combined with the technological capabilities we’ve developed, enables us to consistently achieve the company’s growth targets - and we’ll continue to forge ahead, together with HUMAN," Iluz says.
HUMAN cofounder and CEO Tamer Hassan adds, "Bringing these companies together is a massive shift toward disrupting the economics of cybercrime. We welcome the world-class PerimeterX team of security experts to deliver greater value to our combined media and enterprise customers. By leveraging modern defence - built on internet visibility, network effect and disruptions - we are in the best position to win against cyber criminals globally."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 27 2022.
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