Lacework

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. Glassdoor reviews describe a rougher unraveling: three layoff rounds across 2022-23, constant churn in sales comp and territories, and a product employees said fell behind competitors under leadership drawn from consumer tech. 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.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.