Vendor Security Leader Whistic Announces $35 Million Series B Funding Round Led by JMI Equity

—Funding will support expansion of the Whistic Vendor Security Network, shortening sales cycles and reducing friction for its global network of buyers and sellers—

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SPECIAL TO RSA—Whistic, Inc., creator of an innovative network to assess, publish and share vendor security information, today announced the closing of its Series B Funding with a $35 million investment round led by JMI Equity (“JMI”), a growth equity firm focused on investment in leading software companies, with participation from Forgepoint Capital and existing investors Emergence Capital, Album VC, and FJ Labs. This investment brings Whistic’s total funding to more than $50M since its founding in 2015.

2021 was one of the worst years in history for vendor security incidents, making the need to build trust and transparency between companies increasingly important. Today, the Whistic Vendor Security Network™ includes more than 40,000 profiles that are available on-demand. Every month thousands of buyers accept a Whistic Profile in lieu of requesting a questionnaire to satisfy their vendor assessment requirements. These Zero-Touch Assessments™ drive increased trust and transparency, while automating the reactive, manual processes they replace.

“Trust and transparency are paramount in today’s business environment, and there is a critical need for a new approach to vendor security,” said Nick Sorensen, CEO at Whistic. “The Whistic dual-sided, network approach to vendor security is the best way to meet the needs of both buyers and sellers. This investment from JMI allows us to accelerate our ability to continue solving urgent problems for our global customer base and we couldn’t be more excited for the future.”

“We understand the mission-critical importance of a trusted supply chain in today’s global environment,” said Suken Vakil, General Partner at JMI. “Whistic is the clear leader for companies looking to build a streamlined and automated vendor security assessment program. We are excited to partner with Whistic as they and their customers create a new expectation where security comes first."

Whistic has played a key role in driving industry change including the recent release of the Security First Initiative, which supports the Whistic Profile as the industry standard way to share security information. Founding members of the initiative include Okta, Airbnb, Zendesk, Asana, Atlassian, Snap, Notion, and TripActions. Additional early participants are Cloud Security Alliance, Drata, RiskRecon, RFPIO and Tevora.

This new approach to trust and transparency in vendor security is underscored by recent findings from the 2022 State of Vendor Security Report:

• The number of vendors assessed grew by 22 percent in 2021 and is expected to double within the coming four years.
• Ninety-four percent of buyers are willing to begin a vendor assessment by leveraging an already completed, on-demand questionnaire.
• Eighty percent of vendors express willingness to make their security policy information available publicly.
• Ninety percent of surveyed sales reps have a deal push every quarter as a result of delays tied to a vendor security review.

These trends support the growing acceptance and use of Whistic Profile as the de facto standard for establishing trust and transparency. Additionally, Whistic recently released Whistic Basic Profile, a limited version of its flagship offering that enables any business to proactively share their security posture with customers and publish it to the Whistic Vendor Security Network for free.

Attendees at the upcoming RSA Conference 2022 can connect with Whistic at Moscone South Booth #3317.

About JMI Equity

JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies. Founded in 1992, JMI has invested in over 170 businesses in its target markets, successfully completed over 110 exits, and raised more than $6 billion of committed capital. JMI partners with exceptional management teams to help build their companies into industry leaders. For more information, visit www.jmi.com.

About Whistic

Located in the heart of the Silicon Slopes in Utah, Whistic is the network for assessing, publishing, and sharing vendor security information. The Whistic Vendor Security Network accelerates the vendor assessment process by enabling businesses to access and evaluate a vendor’s Whistic Profile and create trusted connections that last well beyond the initial assessment. Make security your competitive advantage and join Security First businesses such as Airbnb, Okta, Zendesk, Asana, Atlassian, Snap, Notion, TripActions, and G2 that are leveraging Whistic to modernize their vendor security programs. For more information, visit Whistic.com.