CyberFox CEO On Nine-Figure Funding Round: ‘We’ve Got A Big Advantage Right Now’

‘We’ve got a big advantage right now; we have successful software that’s running, customers paying us and momentum,’ says David Bellini, co-founder and CEO of CyberFox. ‘You’ve got to take advantage of that pole position and continue to innovate, especially with AI, because things are moving faster than they ever have.’

With its latest nine-figure investment, CyberFox said it will move to accelerate product development, invest heavily in AI initiatives, expand internationally and pursue strategic acquisitions to broaden its product suite.

“We’ve got a big advantage right now; we have successful software that’s running, customers paying us and momentum,” David Bellini, co-founder and CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based CyberFox, told CRN. “You’ve got to take advantage of that pole position and continue to innovate, especially with AI, because things are moving faster than they ever have.”

The financing was led by software-focused investor Level Equity, with participation from Radian Capital and Bellini and CyberFox co-founder Adam Slutskin. The exact figure was not disclosed. The funding comes as the vendor has grown annual recurring revenue more than 20X since formation through the acquisitions of AutoElevate and Password Boss. Today, it serves more than 4,000 customers worldwide.

[Related: CyberFox’s New Channel Chief On Scaling The Business: ‘This Is About Building Something Sustainable’]

Bellini said the timing of the investment reflects momentum and urgency in a market that is changing quickly. AI is expected to be a major focus in how the company builds products and modernizes its development process. The company also plans to bring in AI-focused engineering leadership to help elevate the entire development side of the house.

“You’ve got about 5 percent of developers who are all in on AI, about 45 percent who know they need to learn it and another 50 percent who are kind of stuck,” he said. “If you don’t adapt, your code can become obsolete. Someone else will re-create your software faster than you can.”

International expansion is another priority, with particular emphasis on Australia and the U.K, according to CyberFox. The company is also eyeing broader distribution across Europe and other regions, noting that it already has customers in more than 50 countries.

On the product side, Bellini said the vendor is focused on “delivering affordable, practical security for MSPs serving SMB customers, who face growing pressure from insurers and regulators to prove strong security controls.”

That reality is driving its strategy to offer an integrated, easy-to-use security platform that covers core requirements insurers are increasingly demanding, including privileged access management, password management and DNS filtering.

“We’re trying to deliver 80 percent of the features of the big guys for a fraction of the cost,” Bellini said. “SMBs can’t afford $300 per employee, per month, but they still need serious protection.”

He teased upcoming product announcements including expansions into security awareness training. For MSP partners, the message behind the funding round is building better products, faster, while keeping costs down. “The goal is to make it easier and easier for MSPs and their customers to protect themselves as the world keeps changing,” he said.

Matt Rose, co-founder and chief experience officer at CyberFox partner Tech Rage IT, Orlando, Fla., said the vendor has consistently paired technology with pricing that works for partners.

“This investment is exciting,” Rose told CRN. “I’m hopeful it reconfirms their commitment to improving existing tools while adding new capabilities in a thoughtful, partner-friendly way.”