Island raises $115 million Series B, enters unicorn club

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Dallas-based security startup Island has raised $115 million in Series B funding just weeks after its $100 million Series A, advancing into the unicorn hub with a $1.3 billion valuation. The round was led by New York-based venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, which also led the Series A financing round, with participation from existing backers Stripes and Sequoia Capital.

Co-founded in 2020 by Mike Fey (CEO) and Dan Amiga (CTO), Island introduced the world’s first Enterprise Browser on February 1, 2022, bridging the gap between current consumer-focused browsers and the increasingly complex IT and security requirements of the enterprise. “A consumer wants to have infinite freedom; they want to be able to install anything they want, go anywhere they want, and do who knows what with their browser without any issues. The enterprise, however, wants to make sure that their customer data is safe, that their critical information is protected, and that they’re getting a good experience,” said Fey.

Island gives the enterprise full control of the browser, developing the fundamental needs of the enterprise into the browser itself, and providing complete visibility and last-mile control actions such as copy, paste, download, upload, screenshots, and other activities that might expose critical data. It also comes with built-in security features such as safe browsing, web filtering, web isolation, exploit-prevention, smart network routing, and zero-trust access.

“We’ve done things to harden the environment, to encrypt items, and to provide more control. We’re not necessarily removing the hacker; we’re removing the victory. The reality is that the data they want to access isn’t sitting on your endpoint for them to steal it.”

Island’s browser is based on Chromium, the open-source project that most major browsers including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are based on. While allowing critical security control, it provides a familiar feel in terms of speed, responsiveness, and compatibility.

“Our mission with the launch of the Enterprise Browser was to deliver value to security professionals from the moment we came out of stealth. And it’s been exciting to see how we’ve already delivered on that goal in such a short time.”

“Island has created a whole new way of thinking about enterprise work. By fundamentally transforming the work environment to be secure-by-design, the Island Enterprise Browser enables organizations to achieve entirely new levels of security, productivity, and IT efficiency. The enthusiasm from our customers and the IT community has been extraordinary,” he added.