JumpCloud Closes $75M Round Led by BlackRock 

This week, cloud directory company JumpCloud announced their $75M Series E round led by BlackRock. JumpCloud has now raised over $165M in capital and will use funds from the latest round to address rapid expansion due to COVID; the company also said they plan to hire an additional 500 employees over the next several years. 

Why this transaction?

The York IE team chose this as our transaction of the week to discuss the growth in identity-based approaches to cybersecurity. As work from home continues to be the trend for many organizations, network perimeters are becoming increasingly difficult to secure as IT solutions are stretched between multiple platforms and devices. Using a zero-trust approach, JumpCloud has been able to successfully address the market as employees continue working from home. JumpCloud’s platform uses a cloud-based directory service that gives users individual credentials to remotely login to their network. By implementing their solution, users are able to gain flexibility in their network while also ensuring security across multiple platforms and devices. As work from home continues into the foreseeable future, this market is primed to see accelerated growth due to the pandemic. 

Disruption Pushing Growth 

As has been the case in many previous TOW blogs, COVID has acted as an accelerating force for this industry. With many organizations realizing the benefits of having a remote workforce, the networks they work on are being compromised. Their zero-trust approach has propelled JumpCloud to center stage in recent months leaving many wondering if the company is poised for an IPO. CEO Rajat Bhargava declined to comment on any future plans for the company but reiterated their focus on continued scalable growth and his commitment to the company.