Ukrainian venture capital syndicate TOLOKA has invested $1 million in Bright Security, an Israeli company that develops the STAR AI platform that protects against vulnerabilities in enterprise applications.
The investment was made as part of an expanded Series A round. It was reported by AIN.
TOLOKA says it was drawn to the company because it meets their criteria: the syndicate focuses on startups with high growth, strong economies, a breakthrough product, and an experienced team.
“The company demonstrates not only impressive ARR and gross margin performance, but also has a clear exit plan supported by demand from strategic players in the market,” the release says.
It is also said that the investment was made on attractive terms – through SAFE with a discounted valuation until the next round, which “opens up the prospect of a high return on investment for the syndicate in the event of a large-scale exit.”
What is known about Bright Security
The company operates in the dynamic security testing (DAST) segment. It is reported that its product:
- Saves 98% of time – the testing and patching cycle is reduced from several months to one day.
- Delivers 94% gross margin, which is exceptional for a SaaS model.
- Has more than 70 corporate clients.
- Demonstrates rapid scaling – 80% of revenue comes from North America; the company is actively expanding sales through distributors (GuidePoint, Optiv).
TOLOKA says that the company is attracting the attention of strategic players such as Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, Wiz, and Snyk. According to Pitchbook, the probability of a successful M&A is over 80%. Successful cybersecurity cases demonstrate multiples from 45x to 70x ARR (e.g. Bionic.io, Axis Security, Dazz Security).
In April, it was reported that TOLOKA had invested $1.7 million in Portoro, a tech company that has developed a solution for finding short-term luxury housing rentals in the United States.
- TOLOKA.vc is a Ukrainian venture capital syndicate founded in 2023 by Taras Kirichenko, Igor Shoyfot, and Alexander Kolb. It focuses on companies that can scale globally and go public or become the target of a strategic acquisition.
