| VMware Carbon Black | |
| Former Name: | Bit9 Bit9 + Carbon Black Carbon Black |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Endpoint security |
| Founded: | (as Bit9) |
| Founders: | Todd Brennan Allen Hillery John Hanratty |
| Hq Location City: | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S. |
| Key People: | Kal De, CEO |
| Products: | Security software |
| Num Employees: | 1000+ |
| Num Employees Year: | 2019 |
| Parent: | VMware |
VMware Carbon Black (formerly Bit9, Bit9 + Carbon Black, and Carbon Black) is a cybersecurity company based in Waltham, Massachusetts.[1] The company develops cloud-native endpoint security software that is designed to detect malicious behavior and to help prevent malicious files from attacking an organization.[2] The company leverages technology known as the Predictive Security Cloud (PSC), a big data and analytics cloud platform that analyzes customers’ unfiltered data for threats.[3]
The company has approximately 100 partners.[4] It has over 5,600 customers including approximately one-third of the Fortune 100.[5]
In October 2019, the company was acquired by VMware.[6]
Carbon Black was founded as Bit9 in 2002 by Todd Brennan, Allen Hillery, and John Hanratty.[7] [8] The company's first CEO was George Kassabgi.[9] In 2007, Patrick Morley, the former chief operating officer of Corel, took over as CEO.[10]
In 2013, the company's network was broken into by malicious actors who copied a private signing key for a certificate and used it to sign malware.[11]
In February 2014, Bit9 acquired start-up security firm Carbon Black.[12] [13] At the time of the acquisition, the company also raised $38.25 million in Series E funding, bringing Bit9’s total venture capital raised to approximately $120 million.[14] The company acquired Objective Logistics in June 2015.[15] In August 2015, the company announced that it had acquired data analytics firm Visitrend and would open a technology development center in downtown Boston.[16] A month later, the company announced it would partner with SecureWorks, Ernst & Young, Kroll, Trustwave, and Rapid7 to provide managed security and incident response services.[17] [18]
The company changed its name to Carbon Black on February 1, 2016, after being known as "Bit9 + Carbon Black" for approximately two years.[19]
In July 2016, Carbon Black announced it had acquired next-generation antivirus software provider Confer for an undisclosed sum. Prior to the deal, Confer had raised $25 million in venture funding and had more than 50 employees. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal was valued at $100 million.[20]
On May 4, 2018, the company joined public markets, listing as "CBLK" on the Nasdaq exchange. As part of its initial public offering (IPO), Carbon Black raised approximately $152 million at a valuation of $1.25 billion.[21] Prior to its IPO, the firm had raised $190M from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Highland Capital, Sequoia, Accomplice, and Blackstone.[22]
In October 2019, the company was acquired by VMware for $2.1 billion.[23] [24]