According to TechCrunch, Armis has raised $435 million in a pre-IPO funding round that values the cybersecurity company at $6.1 billion. The round was led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives with significant participation from CapitalG and new investor Evolution Equity Partners. This represents a meaningful jump from the company’s $4.5 billion valuation in August. The nine-year-old San Francisco startup reportedly received seven acquisition offers, including a potential $5 billion bid from Thoma Bravo, but turned them all down. CEO Yevegny Dibrov says Armis plans to go public in late 2026 or early 2027 and has reached $300 million in annual recurring revenue. The company aims to hit $500 million in recurring revenue and become cash flow positive before its IPO.
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The cybersecurity IPO drought
Here’s the thing about cybersecurity startups – they almost never make it to the public markets. Look at what happened with Wiz earlier this year. They were the fastest-growing startup around, everyone was talking about their inevitable IPO, and then boom – they sold to Google. That’s the pattern in this sector. Companies get to a certain size and either get acquired or struggle to justify staying independent.
The last few years have seen precious few cybersecurity IPOs. SentinelOne went public in 2021, Rubrik managed it last year, and Netscope just went public in September. That’s basically it. So when Armis turns down a $5 billion acquisition offer to pursue an IPO, that’s a pretty bold statement. They’re betting they can buck the trend and actually make it as a public company.
The Thoma Bravo factor
Now, turning down Thoma Bravo is particularly interesting. These guys are basically the sharks of the cybersecurity M&A world. They’ve been snapping up security companies left and right – Proofpoint, Ping Identity, Sophos, the list goes on. When they come knocking with a $5 billion check, most companies take the money and run.
But Armis said no. And that tells you something about their confidence level. Either they genuinely believe they can create more value as an independent public company, or they’re playing a longer game hoping for an even bigger exit down the road. Given that CEO Dibrov called an IPO his “personal dream,” I’m leaning toward the former.
Practicing for the public markets
What’s really telling is how Armis is already “behaving like a public company,” according to Dibrov. They’re hitting quarterly financial targets and focusing on that path to cash flow positivity. That’s smart – the public markets have been brutal to companies that aren’t profitable or at least showing a clear path there.
Their focus on critical infrastructure security for Fortune 500 companies and governments is also interesting. It’s a sticky market with big contracts and potentially more predictable revenue streams than consumer-facing security products. But can they really scale from $300 million to $500 million in recurring revenue in the next couple years? That’s the billion-dollar question.
What this means for cybersecurity
If Armis actually pulls this off and has a successful IPO in 2026-2027, it could change the game for other cybersecurity startups. Right now, the exit playbook is pretty straightforward: get big enough to attract acquisition interest from either tech giants or private equity. An IPO is seen as the harder, riskier path.
But successful IPOs create more successful IPOs. They give investors confidence that there’s liquidity beyond acquisition. They create comps that other companies can point to. And frankly, they give founders more options than just selling to the usual suspects.
The cybersecurity market is massive and only getting bigger, but the public company landscape has been surprisingly sparse. Armis might just be the company that starts changing that equation. Or they might end up proving why so many others take the acquisition route. Either way, it’s going to be fascinating to watch.
