Netskope raises $100 million as it seeks to turn a profit, go public

REUTERS - Cyber-security firm Netskope said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million from existing and new investors to fund product development and marketing programs that will help the firm become profitable and set the stage to go public.

"This makes us financially independent," founder and Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Beri said via phone. "We won't be required to ever raise capital again."

The Series E round was led by existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Accel. Sapphire Ventures and Geodesic Capital invested in the firm for the first time, while Social Capital and Iconiq Capital increased their investment in the firm, according to Netskope.

Beri declined comment on valuation, but said that it was a "significant" increase compared to a $75 million Series D round in 2015.

He declined to say how much revenue the company brought in last year, though he said it tripled and that he expects growth to continue at that rate.

The firm, which helps large organizations monitor and secure employee use of cloud services such as Google Drive and Dropbox, has raised $231 million since it was founded in 2012.

Its more than 350 customers include medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp, apparel maker Levi Strauss & Co and Toyota Motor Corp.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)