VMRay builds hypervisor-driven virtual sandbox technology that emulates a user’s IT environment to detect and analyze malware, augmented with machine learning to automate detection of novel threats. The company’s tools are designed to support human analysts in security operations centres (SOCs) and to integrate or interface with larger cybersecurity solutions. VMRay reports having worked with four of the world’s five biggest tech companies, 37 leading financial companies and 56 state agencies. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Carsten Willems and Dr. Ralf Hund, the firm has matured its core sandbox technique into an automated threat-analysis platform. The recent financing is intended to fund new product development based on that core technology and to expand the company into additional target markets. The company is positioned to complement existing security stacks as an additional layer for advanced and unknown threat detection. VMRay builds evasion-resistant automated malware analysis and detection solutions that combine hypervisor-based dynamic analysis with static and real-time reputation engines. Its platform is designed to remain invisible to malware while accelerating detection of advanced and evasive threats for enterprise security teams. The company was founded by Dr. Carsten Willems and Dr. Ralf Hund to commercialize their academic research in malware sandboxing. VMRay reported a year of strong growth and for the first time established a presence in APAC and MEA. It plans to use new funding to expand sales and marketing worldwide, enhance product capabilities and third-party integrations, and grow its global channel program. VMRay's flagship analyzer platform leverages a malware sandbox to detect zero-day malware and advanced threats that can be missed by other security solutions. Since the introduction of VMRay Analyzer, the company has rolled out a suite of interconnected threat detection products, including VMRay Detector, VMRay Email Threat Defender, and VMRay Web Threat Defender. VMRay Detector delivers rapid, fully automated threat detection at scale without the need for human interaction. VMRay Email Threat Defender enables organizations to fend off phishing and targeted email attacks using patented agentless threat detection technology. VMRay Web Threat Defender integrates Analyzer technology into the web gateway to analyze and detect malicious content that would otherwise bypass web proxies and firewalls. The company said it will use the new funding to expand marketing into new verticals, bolster its engineering team to enhance platform capabilities, and support its MSSP and VAR partners through an expanded channel program. VMRay provides a third‑generation, agentless automated threat analysis solution centered on hypervisor‑level monitoring. Its core product, the VMRay Analyzer, leverages hypervisor‑centric technology and an Intermodular Transition Monitoring (ITM) approach developed by CEO Carsten Willems and CTO Ralf Hund. The Analyzer monitors at the hypervisor level and is undetectable by malware running in the target operating system. VMRay serves enterprises worldwide through channel partners and OEMs. The company plans to use new funding to expand its research and development team and establish a U.S. office in Boston for North American customer support and worldwide sales and marketing. Financially, it closed a $3.9M (€3.5M) Series A to support those initiatives. VMRay is a Bochum, Germany–based provider of malware analysis software. Its core product isolates the infected system from the analytical system so malware remains unaware and can be examined in depth. The software is suited for investigating viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and places special focus on complex APTs and dangerous 64-bit kernel rootkits. The company closed a seed financing round of undisclosed amount and said it will use the funds for product development and marketing. Backers included High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF). VMRay was founded in September 2013 by Dr. Carsten Willems and Dr. Ralf Hund.

Total raised

$63M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Dec 2022