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Founded in May 2021 by former Forcepoint and Symantec engineer Kunal Agarwal, dope.security provides secure web gateway technology designed specifically for modern remote and cloud-based enterprise work environments. The Mountain View, California-based company utilizes a unique direct-to-device model that runs security locally rather than rerouting internet traffic through slower external data centers. This decentralized architecture delivers endpoint protection alongside SSL inspection, URL categorization, and cloud application control while yielding an estimated fivefold performance improvement over legacy proxy-based models. Operating with an initial headcount of thirty employees across its headquarters and an additional office in Cork, Ireland, the venture-backed software firm secures distributed workforces. The enterprise cybersecurity startup has raised a total of $20 million in equity financing, highlighted by a $16 million funding round in March 2023 backed by Google Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, and Preface.
dope.security has raised $24.0M across 3 funding rounds.
dope.security has raised $24.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
dope.security has raised $24.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $16.0M Series A in March 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2023 | $16M Series A | GV | ALT Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Forum Ventures, Matrix, S28 Capital, SaaS Venture Capital, Slack Fund, Y Combinator, Allen Gannett, Edith Harbaugh, OTT Kaukver, Boldstart Ventures, Balaji Yelamanchili, Preface Ventures | Announced |
| Sep 14, 2022 | $4M Venture Round | ED SIM | — | Announced |
| Jul 1, 2021 | $4M Seed | — | 20VC, Addition, Afore Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Boldstart Ventures, Bond, Climate Capital, FJ Labs, General Catalyst, Pareto Holdings, Preface Ventures, Spark Capital, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Brandon Deer, Charley M, Zander Lurie | Announced |
dope.security is an enterprise cybersecurity company founded in 2021, specializing in a fly-direct Secure Web Gateway (SWG) deployed on endpoints for fast, reliable internet access without data center rerouting.[1][2][4] Its core products include dope.swg, an on-device proxy with local SSL inspection, URL filtering, and cloud app controls; CASB Neural, an AI-powered Cloud Access Security Broker for data loss prevention (DLP) in apps like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365; and Dopamine DLP, a real-time AI endpoint DLP solution.[1][2][3][4][6] The company serves cybersecurity-conscious enterprises, MSPs, and sectors needing robust endpoint and cloud protection, solving performance lags, outages, and privacy issues in legacy SWGs amid remote work and cloud shifts.[1][2][3] With $20 million raised and operations in Mountain View, CA, and Cork, Ireland, dope.security reports strong channel partnerships and customer migrations from incumbents like Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler.[2][3]
dope.security was founded on May 4, 2021, by Kunal Agarwal, a former software engineer at Forcepoint and Symantec, who identified flaws in traditional SWG architectures during the post-COVID remote work surge.[1][2][3] Customers repeatedly complained about outages, speed downgrades to HTTP/1.1, and unreliability from traffic rerouting to data centers, prompting Agarwal—with nudges from former managers—to build an endpoint-based alternative.[2][3][7] The company launched with a $4 million seed from Boldstart Ventures in September 2022, starting with 30 employees in Mountain View.[2] A $16 million round followed in March 2023 from Google Ventures, Boldstart, and Preface to advance its fly-direct tech.[2] Key milestones include July 2025 enhancements to block consumer ChatGPT access and September 2025's Dopamine DLP launch.[2][6]
dope.security rides the remote/hybrid work and SSE explosion, where legacy SWGs fail in distributed environments, fueling a market from $12.3B to $44.4B by 2033.[2][3] Timing aligns with cloud adoption, AI threats like ChatGPT data exfiltration, and zero-trust demands, as endpoint traffic bypasses offices.[2][3][4] Favorable forces include MSP channel growth and rip-and-replace from slow incumbents (Cisco, Zscaler, Netskope), plus integrations like CrowdStrike Falcon.[3][6] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering on-device SWG/CASB, enabling faster SSE for MSPs and pushing AI-DLP standards beyond regex.[1][3][6]
dope.security's endpoint fly-direct model positions it to capture share in SSE/DLP as AI threats escalate and remote work persists, with Dopamine DLP and VPN expansions driving 2026 growth.[4][6] Trends like generative AI security and edge computing will amplify its edge over data-center rivals, potentially via acquisitions or deeper hyperscaler ties.[2][3] Its influence may evolve from disruptor to category leader, redefining SWGs for a proxy-less future—proving dope.security isn't just fixing yesterday's flaws, but architecting tomorrow's standard.[7]
dope.security has raised $24.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
dope.security's investors include GV, Alt Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Forum Ventures, Matrix, S28 Capital, SaaS Venture Capital, Slack Fund, Y Combinator, Allen Gannett, Edith Harbaugh, Ott Kaukver.
