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Chainguard's Remarkable Fundraising and Growth Journey

In recent news, Chainguard, a leader in secure software development, has announced the completion of a substantial funding round, raising $356 million in its Series D financing. This impressive capital boost brings the company's total funding to $612 million and values Chainguard at an eye-watering $3.5 billion. The funding round was co-led by prominent investors IVP and Kleiner Perkins, alongside new participants including Salesforce Ventures and Datadog Ventures.

Driving Infrastructure Security

Chainguard has experienced phenomenal growth as organizations seek reliable and innovative secure-by-design infrastructure solutions to protect their software supply chains. The company’s recent expansion in product offerings, including Chainguard Containers, which has garnered over 150 customers, demonstrates its ability to meet an increasing demand for security in software development. Additionally, it has launched Chainguard VMs—a product designed to provide minimal, zero-CVE virtual machine images built from source—and the newly designed Chainguard Libraries for Java, a robust catalog of guarded language libraries aimed at enhancing software security.

With an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $40 million—a staggering seven-fold increase—Chainguard is expected to surpass the $100 million milestone by the end of fiscal year 2026. The freshly acquired funds will be used to propel ongoing product innovation, broaden market operations, and increase the company’s footprint in critical markets across EMEA and APAC.

Security at the Core of Innovation

“Chainguard was created with the belief that security and innovation can go hand in hand,” said Dan Lorenc, CEO and Co-founder of Chainguard. According to Lorenc, this substantial investment reflects not only Chainguard's success but also its mission to make secure software a standard expected by users worldwide.

Prominent organizations, such as ANZ Bank, Canva, GitLab, and Snap Inc., rely on Chainguard to reduce risks and fuel innovation within their teams, enhancing both efficiency and compliance. For example, Booz Allen emphasizes the importance of maintaining cybersecurity compliance while meeting operational demands. Their senior lead platform engineer, Dylan Shepard, acknowledged that Chainguard's secure container images help the firm focus on delivering critical solutions without sacrificing security. Similarly, Shrikant Pandhare from Snap Inc. also highlighted how Chainguard's foundations facilitate rapid innovation to enhance user experiences.

Industry Leaders are Taking Notice

The momentum and traction that Chainguard is experiencing in the industry did not go unnoticed by the investors fueling its growth. Mamoon Hamid, partner at Kleiner Perkins, indicates that Chainguard is perfectly positioned as a new category leader in prioritizing security for software development. Likewise, Tom Loverro from IVP spoke to the overwhelming customer satisfaction driving deeper adoption, which reflects in Chainguard beating its revenue targets.

Salesforce Ventures and Datadog have also expressed excitement in supporting Chainguard—a company viewed as essential for modern businesses needing robust security integrated within their development workflows.

Looking Ahead

Looking forward, Chainguard is set to present its innovations and solutions at the RSA Conference in San Francisco from April 28 to May 1, where they will engage with attendees and further demonstrate how they are redefining the software development security landscape. As the company continues its ambitious journey, it reaffirms its commitment to delivering reliable, secure, and efficient software solutions that empower organizations across the globe to innovate freely without compromising security.

In a dynamic environment where software vulnerabilities can lead to catastrophic consequences, Chainguard's mission and the substantial backing from investors mark a pivotal chapter in the future of secure software development.