Upwind Raises $400M Series C at $3.8B Valuation, Led by Bessemer

3.2 · 1d ago · US · FINANCE

The Facts

  • Upwind, a San Francisco cloud security startup, raised a $400 million Series C at a $3.8 billion valuation, led by Bessemer Venture Partners. TechCrunch only
  • Existing backers including Greylock Partners and Craft Ventures participated in the round. TechCrunch only
  • The round came nine months after Upwind's previous $250 million financing at a $1.5 billion valuation. TechCrunch only
  • According to a person familiar with Upwind, Datadog attempted to acquire the company but did not offer a premium above the $3.8 billion valuation, and Upwind chose to stay independent. TechCrunch has reached out to Upwind and Datadog for comment. TechCrunch only
  • Upwind is projected to end the year with roughly $90 million in annualized recurring revenue, adding $20-30 million in ARR per quarter, according to a person familiar with its financials. TechCrunch only
Dive deeper · 2 more factsShow less
  • Upwind was founded by Amiram Shachar, who previously sold Spot.io to NetApp for $450 million. The company is four years old and focuses on 'runtime' security. TechCrunch only
  • Upwind continues to draw acquisition interest, according to a person familiar with the company. TechCrunch only

Context

Upwind, a cloud security startup that uses AI, raised $400 million in a Series C round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, valuing it at $3.8 billion. The valuation is up from $1.5 billion nine months earlier.

Per an unnamed source cited by TechCrunch, the round nearly fell apart when Datadog tried to buy the company without offering a premium over the venture valuation. Neither company had commented at time of publication.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 2.

4 Business Analyst A $400M private venture round at a $3.8B valuation for a single cloud security startup is a notable deal with a rejected Datadog acquisition rumor, but it affects a limited set of investors and the sector rather than broad markets, so it sits in the moderate-to-minor range.
4 Critical Reader A private $400M funding round at a $3.8B valuation for a single cloud security startup is a concrete financing event with limited broader impact, though the rejected Datadog acquisition attempt based on anonymous sourcing adds modest interest.
3 Policy Expert A private venture funding round for a single startup, with an unconfirmed report of a rejected acquisition offer, has limited governmental or broad public impact despite notable size and industry interest.
3 Global Affairs Analyst A private startup funding round and an unconfirmed, unsourced-by-company acquisition approach are business news with limited geopolitical or broad public impact, scoring in the minor range.
3 Science & Tech Analyst This is a private venture funding round for a single startup, a notable financing but with limited impact beyond the company and its investors, plus an unconfirmed report of a rejected acquisition.
3 News Editor A single startup's $400M funding round at a $3.8B valuation is a concrete but niche business event with limited impact on the broader public, though the unconfirmed Datadog acquisition attempt adds some industry interest.
2 Informed Citizen This is a private funding round for a single startup, a routine financing event with limited impact on ordinary people, though the unconfirmed Datadog acquisition detail adds slight industry interest.

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