SAN FRANCISCO — Socket announced on Thursday that it raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Thrive Capital, pushing the company's valuation to $1 billion. The round included participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and Abstract Ventures, alongside new investor Capital One Ventures. The new injection of capital brings Socket's total funding to $125 million since the firm was established in 2020.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Feross Aboukhadijeh launched the startup to address enterprise security concerns surrounding open-source dependencies. More than 90 percent of modern applications now use open-source code, according to company data released during the funding announcement. Attackers frequently take advantage of this reliance by inserting malicious activities, including backdoors, typosquatting, and obfuscated code, directly into unvetted open-source packages used by developers worldwide.
Socket differentiates itself from traditional Software Composition Analysis tools by scanning open-source packages in real time for behavioral anomalies rather than relying solely on known vulnerability databases. "AI is changing how software gets built at every level," Aboukhadijeh stated in a statement regarding the rapid pace of code generation. The platform's real-time behavioral analysis aims to catch new attack vectors before they cause structural damage to corporate software environments.
The company's enterprise client roster currently includes high-profile artificial intelligence firms such as Anthropic and xAI, alongside software developers Replit and Figma. Fortune 100 companies operating within the finance and media sectors also utilize the security platform to protect against supply chain breaches. Socket competes directly in the developer security market against established rivals like Snyk, Checkmarx, and GitHub.
Socket will direct the $60 million toward global expansion, product development, and enhancing enterprise sales teams over the next 12 months. The funding round cements the San Francisco firm's status as a unicorn while providing the capital necessary to meet growing demand. The company did not disclose specific revenue figures or customer acquisition costs in its latest financial disclosures.
