In a clear demonstration of investor appetite, Nozomi Networks, a San Francisco-based industrial cyber security start-up, has raised $100 million in its latest funding round.

Nozomi Networks specializes in protecting critical infrastructure such as oil, gas, and water, as well as manufacturing facilities, according to CEO Edgard Capdevielle.

Its software monitors machines, including valves and pipelines, to see if there are any anomalies and then alerts companies about where urgent fixes are needed to protect the facilities from hackers.

The software also tracks down the different machines and devices that are connected to the internet to monitor them.

Cyber security start-ups have been recipients of significant investments in the past year given the sharp rise in high-profile cyber-attacks on both private and public sector entities.

Report ad

“The number of attacks has more than doubled year on year,” based on what his company is seeing in the industrial cyber security field, Capdevielle told Reuters.

“We’ve gone from having a malicious insider here and there, somebody that didn’t like how he or she got fired, to now these ransomware folks that want to shut you down.”

Investors include Honeywell Ventures, an investment arm of Honeywell International, as well as In-Q-Tel, the venture capital fund.

Follow us on twitter: @risksEmerging