Cequence Security, a renowned provider of Unified Application Program Interface (API) Protection, shared details of its record growth during the first half of FY22 and the appointment of Wei Wang as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Cequence Security’s unique approach to uncovering and preventing API threats that can lead to fraud and data loss has resulted in the company protecting $1.3 trillion in assets among Fortune 500 companies and more than two billion user accounts worldwide.
Decade of experience
With over a decade of experience in the technology sector at both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies including Cohesity, Juniper and Ordr, Wang’s addition to the leadership team comes at a pivotal time for the company as it experiences increased growth among U.S. and international customers.
In her capacity as CFO, Wang will lead Cequence Security’s financial strategy and processes to empower its next chapter of growth within the API protection market.
“The API security market is quickly gaining traction and Cequence Security is leading the charge,” said Wang. “I’m thrilled to be joining the company at such an exciting time and look forward to working with this talented team to further accelerate Cequence Security’s strong momentum and high growth trajectory.”
Major milestones
Alongside the appointment of Wang, Cequence Security achieved several major milestones in the first half of FY22, including:
- Investment by KPN Ventures: KPN Ventures, the venturing arm of KPN, the Netherlands’ telecom & ICT company, has invested in Cequence Security as part of the company's Series C funding round to help accelerate growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
- Increased Customer Growth and User Adoption: Cequence Security grew its customer base and had more transactions in the last quarter than in the previous three quarters combined. New customers included Telstra, the largest telecom carrier in Australia; the leading automotive manufacturer in the U.K.; and two of the top three telecom companies in the U.S. leading Cequence Security to protect more than 55% of Americans.
- Geographic Expansion: Following a strategic growth investment from KPN, Cequence Security further expanded its operations in the EMEA region. Additionally, the company grew its headcount by 89% YoY – from 75 employees ending October 31, 2021 to 142 employees ending October 31, 2022.
- New Product Innovations: Cequence Security released API Spyder, an agentless API attack surface management (ASM) tool that provides security teams with an attacker’s view of their publicly exposed APIs and resources. With the addition of API Spyder, Cequence Security now offers the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution for the entire API protection lifecycle on the market.
- Industry Recognition and Accolades: Cequence Security’s Unified API Protection solution was named the winner of the "Enterprise CyberSecurity Solution of the Year” category in the 2022 Cybersecurity Breakthrough Awards and was named a finalist in the “API Security” category in the 2022 CISO Choice Awards.
Currency of exchange
APIs have become the currency of exchange for everything we do in today’s digital economy
“APIs have become the currency of exchange for everything we do in today’s digital economy, which is why it’s critically important for businesses to take a modern approach that enables teams to discover, detect and defend their APIs,” said Ameya Talwalkar, CEO and Founder of Cequence Security.
Ameya Talwalkar adds, “Wei’s skill set and proven track record of financial leadership at companies of various sizes will bring a unique perspective that is a tremendous asset as we seek to expand our global footprint and product offerings to meet the growing market need in today’s digital-first world.”
Enhanced protection
“Cequence's API Protection offering is expected to provide support for KPN's business customers who need a solution that can scale with their demands and provides enhanced protection for their applications,” said Sem Alberga, Investment Director at KPN Ventures.
Sem Alberga adds, “The Cequence platform provides a full range of functions including inline response mitigation to help address the growing number of cyber-attacks targetting APIs for internet, mobile and IoT apps.”
Impressive roster
“APIs have become the number one attack vector largely due to being inherently insecure and providing direct access to critical data. We originally invested in Cequence as they have an impressive roster of customers, including many Fortune 500, household brands and two of the three largest telcos in the U.S., which means they can meet the demands of the largest and most demanding organisations."
“They are the only vendor that can cover the full API Protection lifecycle from discovery to detection to defence. It is the only solution that provides visibility and inline response mitigation to attacks on APIs,” said Marcus Bartram, Investment Partner at Telstra Ventures.