CEO, OBSIDIAN SECURITY, NEWPORT BEACH
Obsidian is quickly moving further into the front ranks of Orange County’s growing cyber-protection industry. Well-funded firm’s offerings are designed to meet the growing demand for corporate cybersecurity, enabling companies to maintain what the tech world calls good “SaaS Security and posture management.” The company counts nearly 100 corporate customers, according to Imam.
THEN: The software maker’s founders include two former executives of onetime Irvine-based cybersecurity firm Cylance and which also count ties to well-known security firm Carbon Black. Has raised a total of $119.5M since its founding in 2017. Imam said revenue showed an almost four-times increase last year, and he expects three-times growth in 2022, though he did not disclose figures. The company said its number of deals of $100,000 or more increased fivefold last year.
NOW: In April, announced a $90M financing round led by prominent Silicon Valley investment firm Menlo Ventures. Obsidian will be investing a significant amount of its latest funds in research and development positions this year and “Newport Beach-Orange County is a big area of our focus for those hires,” Imam told the Business Journal. The company also has offices in Silicon Valley.
FUTURE: Imam expects the current companywide headcount of 80 people to double this year as demand for corporate cybersecurity jumps.
IN THEIR WORDS: “Even if you have perfect posture, perfect configuration, perfect controls around data visibility, perfect controls around how you are granting people privileges, accounts can still be compromised.”
