Congratulations to Netskope on the IPO! Taking Security & Networking Beyond Cloud Nine
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Congratulations to Netskope on the IPO! Taking Security & Networking Beyond Cloud Nine
Today marks an incredibly exciting day at Sapphire Ventures as we celebrate our portfolio company Netskope on its IPO (NASDAQ:NTSK). We want to congratulate the entire Netskope team – past and present – on this outstanding milestone.
More than a decade ago, Netskope was founded on the premise that the world ahead would be radically different–that the rapid adoption of cloud services would necessitate a reimagining of an entire industry founded upon the “traditional network perimeter.” End users were beginning to bring in their own cloud apps and devices, while also starting to work from anywhere. But security & IT programs weren’t keeping up.
Co-founder and CEO Sanjay Beri built a business that answered the call, providing enterprises with the visibility and control for cloud applications and services they critically needed. Fast forward to today, relentless dedication over the years has yielded a true Company of Consequence, helping organizations achieve modern security and networking for the cloud and AI era.
The Trifecta: Vision, Talent, & Culture
When we first met Sanjay in 2014, we were struck not only by the strength of his founding team – including Krishna Narayanaswamy, Ravi Ithal and Lebin Cheng – but also by the bold vision to redefine security and networking. While investors at the time didn’t necessarily buy the long view – instead seeing Netskope as a company building a best-in-class cloud access security broker (CASB) – Sanjay and the team were highly intent on establishing the foundation needed for a much broader cloud security platform from Day 1.
What was also particularly impressive was Sanjay’s ability to attract exceptional talent. From his cofounders (which included industry veterans across leading companies like Palo Alto Networks, Juniper Networks and VMware) to other highly regarded engineers from organizations like AWS, GCP and more, Netskope assembled a world-class team to build its security capabilities and a robust global network, giving the company a lasting advantage against the competition in delivering both speed and security to its customers. To retain that amazing talent required a deliberately compelling culture – one built on being open, collaborative and innovative, while still having fun along the way.
In the run-up to Netskope’s public debut, Jai sat down with Sanjay for our Five with Founders series to discuss what it takes to build a category-defining cybersecurity and enterprise networking company–from spotting shifts in user behavior early, to fostering an intentional culture, to enabling the secure use of AI in cybersecurity.
Security & Networking for the Cloud and AI Era
Today, the Netskope platform has evolved in both its breadth and depth, offering capabilities spanning secure web gateway, zero-trust network access, data loss prevention and more. Recognized as a leader by the world’s top analysts, Netskope One provides customers with a cloud-native platform that converges security and networking services–both protecting and accelerating enterprises without sacrificing performance or user experience.
It’s no surprise that thousands of organizations – including more than 30 of the Fortune 100 – rely on Netskope to secure and accelerate their use of the web, cloud, SaaS, private applications and increasingly, AI. Customers know they can rely on Netskope for modern security built for the cloud and AI era, and that their data is secure wherever it goes, however it’s used and no matter where it’s stored.
The Next Chapter
At Sapphire, we are proud to have been able to support Sanjay and the Netskope team at each step of our nearly decade-long partnership. While an IPO is a significant milestone, it is not the finish line–it is the beginning of the next chapter in the journey, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to see what’s next for Netskope as a public company.
Legal disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented within this article is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire. Information provided reflects Sapphires’ views as of a time, whereby such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. Companies mentioned in this article are a representative sample of portfolio companies in which Sapphire has invested in which the author believes such companies fit the objective criteria stated in commentary, which do not reflect all investments made by Sapphire. A complete alphabetical list of investments made by Sapphire’s Growth strategy is available here. No assumptions should be made that investments listed above were or will be profitable. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in these statements. Nothing contained in this virtual event may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular company. Past performance is not indicative of future results.