Dope Security raises $16M to build secure web gateways for endpoints

Dope.security, an SWG startup, raised $16 million to improve and innovate the decades-old technology of secure web gateways, commonly used by organizations to enforce IT policies around Internet usage.

Dope, a cybersecurity startup based in Mountain View, CA, has secured $20 million in a Series A funding round led by GV (Google Ventures), with Boldstart Ventures and Preface also participating. The company plans to use the funding to hire new staff, develop its business, and enhance its secure web gateway product with new features, including a Dope API and a 'zero-trust' layer for added security.

Unlike traditional secure web gateway products, Dope's product is designed to run on an organization's endpoints, such as computers and devices connected to the company network. This approach is said to be faster, more secure, and less prone to failures, and is also more privacy-friendly for users. Dope uses the cloud for certain aspects of its service, such as managing white and black lists, and distributing data to endpoints.

Dope's founder and CEO, Kunal Agarwal, came up with the central premise for the company while working at Symantec, where he saw first-hand the challenges of making changes to secure web gateway products and the problems with how they work today. Dope's approach is described as "fly direct," where the endpoint is where traffic is evaluated before it is allowed through.

The market for secure web gateway products is predicted to grow to nearly $24 billion by 2028. Dope's product is priced at $60 per device, per year, and aims to offer a simpler, more user-friendly approach to managing cybersecurity threats. Sangeen Zeb, a general partner at GV, said that Dope is "well-positioned to reinvent traditional approaches to SWG."