Acquired by Fortinet (Aug 2024) for an estimated ~$200M — a tiny fraction of its $8.3B peak.
The rise & fall
7 moments · 2015–2024
The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
2015
🌱
2015
Founded
A cloud-security platform that uses machine learning to spot threats across sprawling cloud estates.
TechCrunch
2021
🦄
2021
A $525M round crosses $1B
An early-2021 mega-round makes it one of cybersecurity's hottest unicorns.
TechCrunch
Nov 2021
📈
Nov 2021
The peak: $8.3B after a monster round$8.3B
Raises $1.3B in a single round — one of security's largest ever — for an $8.3B valuation.
TechCrunch
2022
2022
Early layoffs as budgets tighten
Cloud-security spending cools, growth slows, and rivals like Wiz surge past.
TechCrunch
2022–24
💬
From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–24
Glassdoor reviews charted the unraveling: employees described three layoff rounds across 2022-23, constant churn in sales compensation and territories, and a product they felt had fallen behind competitors; after the sale, some early employees said their exercised options returned nothing.
2024
2024
A Wiz rescue falls through
Reported takeover talks with rival Wiz end without a deal.
SiliconANGLE
Aug 2024
🤝
Aug 2024
Acquired by Fortinet for ~$200M$200M
Terms undisclosed; estimates of $150-230M put the price at a tiny fraction of the $8.3B peak.
Fortinet
💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Lacework built a cloud-security platform that used machine learning to spot threats, becoming one of the boom's most valued cybersecurity startups — raising $1.3B in a single round to reach an $8.3B valuation in November 2021. As spending tightened and rivals like Wiz surged, growth slowed and it cut staff.
Fortinet acquired Lacework in August 2024 for an estimated $150-230M — a fraction of its peak, with some early employees reporting their exercised options returned nothing.
Source: Fortinet / SiliconANGLE / Sacra ($8.3B Series D Nov 2021, raised ~$2B total; Fortinet acquisition Aug 2024, terms undisclosed, estimated ~$150-230M)
Founders & leadership
JP
Jay Parikh
CEO
Now Executive Vice President at Microsoft · LinkedIn ↗
