KnowBe4 IPO: The Next Layer of Cybersecurity Arrives on Wall Street

/in /by Jamie Montgomery & Julia Klein

KnowBe4, the leading platform for security awareness training, made its successful public markets debut today when it began trading on the NASDAQ under ticker KNBE. The company has achieved impressive growth leading up its IPO. With ARR of ~$200 million (40% YoY), over 37,000 customers globally in markets worth over $15 billion, we believe the company is well positioned and well prepared to achieve its long-term vision of becoming the go-to security solution for the human layer.

KnowBe4, backed by Goldman Sachs, KKR, and March Capital, among others, utilizes proprietary content coupled with intelligent analytics and personalization to provide a robust security platform. What Okta did for identity, Zscaler did for web, and CrowdStrike did for endpoint – all public companies with over $25B market cap – KnowBe4 seeks to do for the human layer. 

Security Training and Awareness is a large underserved market. While nearly 70% of data breaches are attributable to attacks on the human layer, today only 3% of cybersecurity spend is actually allocated to training and awareness. KnowBe4 offers a solution that addresses low hanging fruit for companies of all sizes, across industries. The solution is not only built for global scale but also built to provide an intuitive, user-friendly platform for any busy professional.

The company is targeting —and quickly approaching— complete market dominance as it expands its consumer base. It plans to rapidly invest in its international operations post-IPO, which made up nearly 12% of revenue in FY2020. KnowBe4 has demonstrated incredible efficiency in its go-to-market. The company has achieved nearly $200M ARR, with minimal capital investment. Growth has been steady, gross profits consistently strong (mid 80% range), and cash flows are positive. The March Capital team has a high degree of confidence in management’s ability to execute in this next phase of growth.

We believe we are still in the early chapters of the KnowBe4 growth story and look forward to observing its continued success. To learn more about KnowBe4, please click here.