Orca Security Reaches $1.2 Billion in Valuation in 2 Years as an AWS Partner

Orca Security has accelerated its growth and expanded its customer base by becoming an AWS Partner. Because 80 percent of its customers operate in AWS environments, the cloud security startup wanted to strengthen its ability to protect AWS workloads by accessing AWS resources that would validate its security posture to its customers. Orca Security joined the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, which boosted co-selling on the AWS Marketplace. Orca Security also obtained an AWS Security ISV Competency in only two months. With greater billing flexibility and the ability to close deals faster, the startup achieved unicorn status and $1.2 billion in valuation in two years and increased its customer base by 305 percent in 2021.

Founded in 2018, cloud security provider Orca Security achieved unicorn status and a valuation of over $1.2 billion in two years and has amassed over $300 million in funding. The fast-growing startup helps organizations better detect and prioritize security risks by offering complete visibility into their infrastructure on Amazon Web Services (AWS), helping them reduce gaps in coverage, alert fatigue, and operational costs. Its customers—including Databricks, Autodesk, Lemonade, Sisense, and Robinhood—can simplify their security operations with a single software as a service–based cloud security solution for workload and data protection, cloud security posture management, vulnerability management, and compliance management. 

Since becoming an AWS Partner, Orca Security has accelerated its growth in the cloud security industry. The startup has increased its time to market and expanded its customer base by 305 percent in 2021. “Our company has a very unique and high-growth journey,” says Maryam Lahiji, Senior Alliance and Partner Marketing Manager at Orca Security. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the AWS Partner Network.”

With dual headquarters in Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, Israel, Orca Security develops cloud-native security technology to replace multiple tools, including legacy vulnerability management solutions, cloud workload and data protection solutions, and cloud security posture management solutions. The company also earned a 2021 Gartner Cool Vendor award in cloud security posture management for its capabilities across these categories. Orca Security’s solution deploys and scales instantly, so its customers can gain greater visibility into their cloud environments, filter false positives from critical alerts (such as the presence of malware), and begin acting on security risks in minutes. Orca Security also facilitates continuous regulatory compliance by alerting organizations to threats ranging from leaked passwords and compromised files to infrastructure vulnerabilities.

With 80 percent of its customers operating in AWS environments, the startup is all in on AWS and develops solutions that protect AWS workloads, including those running on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), a web service that provides secure, resizable compute capacity in the cloud. “At Orca Security, we are trying to solve several customer problems,” says Lahiji. “Our cofounders wanted to join the AWS Partner Network because they connected with the customer obsession at AWS. We also wanted to stay close to our product and integrate with key services to expand our offerings.”

Orca Security is a member of multiple AWS Partner programs, including the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, a co-sell program for AWS Partners that provide software solutions that run on or connect to AWS services. This program helps drive new business and accelerate sales cycles by connecting participating AWS Partners with the AWS Sales organization. AWS Partners participating in AWS ISV Accelerate program are also eligible for reduced listing fees on AWS Marketplace, a digital catalog with thousands of software listings that make it simple to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on AWS.

Since joining the AWS ISV Accelerate Program in early 2021, Orca Security has increased its customer base and fostered significant growth. In addition to onboarding more than 60 new customers in 2021, the startup also converted 42 opportunities through the APN Customer Engagements (ACE) Program, which enables AWS Partners to build, grow, and drive successful customer engagements through support from the AWS sales team. “As an AWS Partner, we have the ability to increase our speed to market and amplify our message,” says Lahiji. “Being able to co-sell as part of the AWS ISV Accelerate Program helps us close deals quickly and enjoy greater billing flexibility.” Orca Security can use AWS Marketplace to facilitate low-touch, transactional sales as it continues to scale. The startup can now charge its customers monthly instead of annually, streamlining the onboarding process and generating revenue.

Orca Security also has an Amazon Linux 2 Ready Product, a validation held by AWS Partners whose products are ready to run on Amazon Linux 2, a Linux server operating system on AWS. As such, Orca Security can offer its customers the benefit of running their preferred applications on Amazon Linux 2, along with long-term support and optimized performance. “Using Amazon Linux 2 makes it simpler for our customers to implement our solution,” says Lahiji. “One of the benefits of using Orca Security is that you can deploy our solution within minutes, and you can see and act on the most critical security issues (or risks) within your AWS environment in minutes. It is simpler for us to integrate and work with different tiers on AWS as an Amazon Linux 2 Ready Partner.”

Orca Security is also one of only nine vulnerability management providers that have achieved an AWS Security ISV Competency. AWS Security Competency Partners have deep technical expertise and proven customer success securing every stage of cloud adoption, from initial migration through ongoing day-to-day management. This key designation recognizes that Orca Security has demonstrated proven technology and deep expertise in helping customers adopt, develop, and deploy complex security projects on AWS. Obtaining this AWS Competency enabled Orca Security to further differentiate its services from those of its competitors. “Having a seal of approval in the form of an AWS Security ISV Competency was very important to us,” says Lahiji. “As a new startup, having validation that our solution is actually secure and that our workloads have been checked out was critical to our success.” Orca Security obtained its AWS Security ISV Competency in only two months.

As an AWS Partner, Orca Security has accelerated its growth and expanded its customer base. In the future, the startup plans to continue offering its solutions on AWS Marketplace, and it will be a gold sponsor for the August 2021 AWS re:Inforce, an annual conference where companies can learn how to secure cloud workloads using AWS services. Orca Security will continue to use AWS Partner resources to expand its services and generate new conversions. “The AWS ISV Accelerate Program has been a game changer,” says Lahiji. “Having support from the AWS team has accelerated our wins.”