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Blackwall is a Tallinn, Estonia-based cybersecurity company that develops AI-powered reverse proxy solutions to protect websites from malicious bots, intruders, and ad fraud. Operating through a channel-based business model, the enterprise partners with over 100 hosting and managed service providers to secure more than 2.3 million websites and applications for small and medium-sized businesses. Its flagship GateKeeper software platform inspects web traffic in real time, which improves malicious activity detection by 30 percent and reduces aftercare costs by up to 20 percent. The 65-employee company, whose board includes Executive Chairman Roi Carthy, has financed its expansion through a €45 million Series B round led by Dawn Capital and a €12 million Series A led by MMC Ventures. Originally operating under the name BotGuard, the business was founded in 2019 by Nikita Rozenberg and Denis Prochko.
BlackWall has raised $62.6M across 3 funding rounds.
BlackWall has raised $62.6M in total across 3 funding rounds.
BlackWall has raised $62.6M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $49.0M Series B in March 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2025 | $49M Series B | — | Dawn Capital, EFounders, MMC Ventures, #secretfund, Stefan Lindeberg, Thibaud Elziere | Announced |
| Mar 1, 2024 | $13M Series A | — | Cubit Capital, Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures, Stefan Lindeberg | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2020 | $590K Seed | — | Cubit Capital | Announced |
BlackWall has raised $62.6M in total across 3 funding rounds.
BlackWall's investors include Dawn Capital, eFounders, MMC Ventures, #SecretFund, Stefan Lindeberg, Thibaud Elziere, Cubit Capital.
Blackwall is a cybersecurity company that builds AI-enabled web traffic management solutions, primarily its flagship product GateKeeper, a reverse proxy designed to mitigate malicious bots, L7 DDoS attacks, brute-force attempts, and automated threats.[1][2][4] It serves hosting service providers, managed service providers, and eCommerce platforms hosting SMB websites, solving the problem of underserved small and mid-sized businesses facing bot-driven threats that comprise up to half of web traffic by filtering malicious requests before they reach applications.[2][4] Blackwall demonstrates strong growth momentum, including a €45 million Series B raise in March 2025 and a rebrand from BotGuard to expand beyond bot mitigation into broader infrastructure protection.[2][3]
Founded in 2019, Blackwall partners with providers to scale security globally, optimizing infrastructure costs by 10-25% while enabling new revenue streams through high-value services.[2][4]
Blackwall was founded in 2019 by CEO Nikita (Nik) Rozenberg and CTO Denis (Dennis) Prochko, entrepreneurs with over 50 years of combined experience in cybersecurity, banking software, and other sectors.[2][3][5] Originally launched as BotGuard, the company emerged from the founders' expertise in addressing bot threats and web security at the hosting provider level, starting with a proprietary load balancing solution that integrated ad fraud protection and bot mitigation following a €12 million Series A round.[5]
A pivotal moment came with the 2025 rebrand to Blackwall, signaling an evolution to provide top-tier protection for SMBs via partnerships, expanding from bot-specific tools to comprehensive AI-driven traffic management amid rising cyber threats.[2] Early traction built on this model, positioning it for rapid scaling as seen in its recent €45 million Series B.[3]
Blackwall stands out in web security through engineering-focused features tailored for hosting ecosystems:
Blackwall rides the exploding bot threat trend, where bots constitute half or more of web traffic, amplified by AI-driven attacks, cybercrime, and reconnaissance in sectors like eCommerce, hosting, and SMB digital operations.[1][2][4] Timing is ideal amid 2025's cross-border intelligence surge and rising L7 attacks, with market forces like SMB digitization and hosting consolidation favoring its provider-partner model over direct-to-consumer sales.[2][3]
It influences the ecosystem by democratizing infrastructure protection—trusted by providers, it shields millions of sites, optimizes server density, and counters competitors like CHEQ, HUMAN, and Kasada by focusing on hosting-layer integration rather than end-user apps.[4][5] This strengthens the web's resilience, particularly for on-prem/cloud hybrids vulnerable to automated threats.
Blackwall's trajectory points to accelerated global expansion post-€45M Series B, deepening AI enhancements in GateKeeper for emerging threats like advanced scrapers and zero-day exploits while forging more provider partnerships.[2][3][4] Trends like AI-bot arms races, QUIC/HTTP3 adoption, and SMB cloud migrations will propel it, potentially evolving into a full-stack web infra leader influencing hosting standards.
As cyber dangers intensify, Blackwall's elite-yet-accessible shield positions it to safeguard the open web's foundation, turning bot chaos into secure growth for millions of sites.
