- Traditional SCA tools which have historically safeguarded software supply chains are increasingly overwhelmed by the surge in supply chain attacks.
- Company is committed to expanding its team and enhancing its technological capabilities across engineering, product development, and design.
In an era where over 90 per cent of modern applications are developed using open-source components, the urgency for robust security measures has never been more pronounced.
Traditional Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools, which have historically safeguarded software supply chains, are increasingly overwhelmed by the surge in supply chain attacks.
Addressing this pressing need, Socket, a leading platform dedicated to protecting software from these threats, has announced a significant $40 million funding round to enhance its security capabilities against malicious open-source activities, such as backdoors, typo-squatting, and obfuscated code.
Lead investors
Socket’s Series B funding round, spearheaded by Abstract Ventures, attracted participation from Elad Gil, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and a stellar group of angel investors including Bret Taylor (OpenAI), Phil Venables (Google), Scott Johnston (Docker), Christina Cacioppo (Vanta), Ann Mather (Pixar, Alphabet, Netflix, Airbnb), and Tobias Lütke (Shopify), among others.
This influx of capital elevates Socket’s total funding to $65 million, reinforcing its mission to modernise security for open-source software.
The company is committed to expanding its team and enhancing its technological capabilities across engineering, product development, and design.
Innovative security solutions
Feross Aboukhadijeh, Socket’s founder and CEO, said the momentum the company has gained over the past year, highlighting its successful transition from conventional SCA solutions to a more proactive security model.
By focusing on real-time detection and blocking of malicious threats, Socket distinguishes itself from legacy systems, thereby catering to the evolving demands of enterprises across various sectors, including AI, B2B services, and finance.
The imperative for innovative security solutions is further underscored by the evolving nature of supply chain attacks.
Jason Clinton, Chief Information Security Officer at Anthropic, articulated the limitations of traditional tools, noting that Socket’s real-time threat detection significantly fortifies security measures against even the most sophisticated threats.
The increasing pace of software development driven by generative AI exacerbates the risk of vulnerabilities being unintentionally integrated into applications.
Growing market presence
Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, lauded Socket’s preventative capabilities, asserting that the platform enables developers to innovate without compromising security.
Socket’s commitment to rapid innovation is evident in its recent advancements, including AI-powered threat detection across six programming languages. This has empowered the platform to effectively detect and thwart over 100 supply chain attacks weekly.
Currently, Socket protects more than 7,500 organisations and manages upwards of 300,000 GitHub repositories, a testament to its effectiveness and growing market presence.
As Ramtin Naimi, a founding partner at Abstract Ventures, noted, Socket is redefining how companies approach software security amidst escalating supply chain threats.
“The platform’s ability to offer a developer-friendly and preventative approach positions it as a crucial player in the industry.”
Elad Gil further emphasised the uniqueness of Socket’s strategy, highlighting the team’s ability to deliver impactful solutions at an unprecedented pace.
“We’re building a world-class team to tackle one of the most urgent challenges in software today,” Feross said.