Armis raises $435M pre-IPO round at $6.1B valuation after rejecting M&A bids

Cybersecurity is a huge sector, but startups in this category are more likely to be acquired than go public. Even Wiz, which for a time held the title of fastest-growing startup, abandoned its IPO ambitions when it agreed to sell to Google earlier this year.

In the past few years, there have been quite a few significant listings in the cybersecurity space: SentinelOne went public in 2021, Rubrik did so last year, and Netscope went public in September.

Armis, a nine-year-old cybersecurity startup based in San Francisco, intends to follow suit. The company said Wednesday it has raised $435 million in a pre-IPO round led by Growth Equity in Goldman Sachs Alternatives. CapitalG made a significant investment in the round, and new investor Evolution Equity Partners also participated.

The round values ​​Armis at $6.1 billion, a significant jump from the $4.5 billion tender offer valuation the startup announced in August.

Armis hopes to launch its IPO in late 2026 or early 2027, co-founder and CEO Yevgeny Dibrov (pictured above, right) told TechCrunch.

The round comes in the wake of significant interest in acquiring the company. In September, Bloomberg reported that Armis had received seven offers, which included a potential $5 billion offer from private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

But this new financing is an indication of how serious Armis is about going public, a move Dibroff described as his “personal dream.”

According to Dibroff, Armis has reached annual recurring revenue of $300 million, and plans to raise that number to $500 million as it becomes cash flow positive ahead of its IPO.

The startup “is already behaving like a public company,” Dibroff said, adding that the company is ensuring it meets its quarterly financial targets.

The company provides critical infrastructure security software to Fortune 500 companies, national governments, and state and local entities.