ReliaQuest Secures $500M to Reinvent Enterprise Cybersecurity

TAMPA, Florida, April 1, 2025 – In a strategic movement that reflects the demand for cybersecurity led by AI, ReliaQuest, a ​Tampa-based security platform provider, raised over $500 ​million in a new funding cycle ​led by EQT Growth, as well as key KKR ​and FTV Capital players. The tour, which catapults the company’s evaluation at $3.4 billion, represents ​not only financial support but also a vote of confidence in ReliaQuest’s unique approach to fighting the modern cyber threat panorama.

Founded in 2007 ​by Brian Murphy, ReliaQuest comes from a regional cybersecurity service company with one of the most recognized players in the field of corporate security. GreyMatter, ​its AI-led flagship and automation platform, is at ​the heart ​of ​this ​growth and aims to give the Head of Information Security (CISUS) the ​power to ​detect, contain and respond to threats in minutes, not in a few hours or days. As the complexity of institutional systems increases and attackers progress, this speed has become critical.

Why did investors put half a billion ​dollars in ​cybersecurity?

There is no doubt that 2025 is a ​crucial year for cybersecurity. From the main government to the infiltration of ransomware into the private sector, threats are not only increasing, they are changing. According to EQT Growth’s ​statements, the decision to support ​ReliaQuest was not just a scale, but a strategy.

Kirk Lepke, partner of the EQT, summarized:

“ReliaQuest accelerated ahead ​of the package ​by enriching ​GreyMatter with AI capabilities and automation. ​It is now one of the few software providers able to manage security operations in the ​most complex business environments

In short, ​the current ecosystem requires solutions that go beyond traditional firewalls and antivirus programs. Companies need AI systems that can make independent decisions based on dynamic data. That’s exactly what ReliaQuest offers. Your platform not only the flag threats – acts ​on ​them. This distinction has become an important point of sale for customers and investors.

What distinguishes GreyMatter from an overcrowded cybersecurity ​field?

At heart, GreyMatter is an ​inclusive ​platform. ​It is linked to over ​200 different security tools that ​organizations already use. This includes IMS systems, end point protection, cloud services and more. What makes ​it unique is not the large number of integrations, but the ​way it brings them together.

Unlike ​many “bolt-on” solutions that add complexity, ​GreyMatter simplifies. It centralizes visibility with disparate tools and automates tasks that ​previously required manual hours of work. According to ReliaQuest, the platform allows the detection and response ​of threats in ​less than five ​minutes, ​a figure that dwarfs traditional parameters. ​Your customers report doing research up to 20 times faster and 30% more accurate.

Founder and CEO Brian Murphy highlighted the importance of this innovation:

“Business ​security teams have more data than ever before and the speed of ​threat is increasing rapidly. ISDS needs ​a way to contain ​threats in a matter of minutes, without additional costs or general technical costs. »

Essentially, ​GreyMatter does not replace the CISO toolbox, it sharpens it.

How will ​the $500 million be used?

Capital injection is expected to accelerate several key initiatives:

• Global ​Expansion: ReliaQuest is aiming to strengthen ​its presence in Europe and Asia-Pacific, targeting enterprise ​clients in regions with complex regulatory and compliance needs.
• AI Innovation: Investment will further Agentic ​AI development—AI that ​not only learns from data but makes autonomous decisions to stop threats ​before they spread.
• Customer Enablement: Additional resources ​will be devoted to improving client onboarding, training, and support services to ensure scalable implementation of GreyMatter.

According to Stephen Shanley, responsible for technical growth in Europe at KKR, this is not his first bet on ReliaQuest. KKR had led ​a first round in 2020 when the company ​was valued at just over $1 billion. Since then, the company has more than quadrupled its annual income (RAR), which now exceeds ​$300 million. It also has a clientele of over 1000 ​companies and maintains a healthy annual growth rate of 30%, while remaining profitable.

Why ​now, what is Emergency doing in ​Cybersecurity Investment?

Several factors converge ​to make cybersecurity a top priority:

• Remote Work: Distributed workforces increase attack surfaces.
• Digital ​Transformation: Cloud migration and IoT adoption expose ​new ​vulnerabilities.
• Regulatory Pressures: Governments worldwide are tightening data privacy laws, ​raising the stakes for security compliance.
• AI-Powered Attacks: Malicious actors are beginning to weaponize AI, ​making traditional defense methods obsolete.

These ​trends are not only theoretical. According to cybersecurity reports, the average time for intrusions – time ​attackers remain undetected in systems – has been reduced to a ​few days or even hours in some cases. For ​CISO, this means that their response windows are more adjusted than ever.

ReliaQuest, through GreyMatter, offers a counterweight to this acceleration, allowing security teams to react at the same speed as the threats they face.

What are you doing? Does this mean for the cybersecurity industry in general?

ReliaQuest’s successful funding cycle ​may indicate a broader change in how cybersecurity solutions are evaluated and funded. On days when the perimeter base defences are sufficient. Today’s investments are pursuing tools that provide ​real-time decisions and measurable security ​results.

It is also a sign that investors see sustainability in cybersecurity innovation. This is not a short-term game in the hypocrite. According to Finback Investment Partners and Ten Eleven Ventures – both investors repeat in this price – ROI is not only financial. It is strategic ​and meets one ​of ​the most ​urgent needs of companies in each sector.

And let us not ​neglect ​another layer here: work limitations. With the shortage of cybersecurity ​skills ​becoming a chronic problem, automation and IA ​are not simply “better than having”, ​they are increasingly essential. GreyMatter effectively increases security equipment, allowing fewer people to do more and do better.

Can Agent AI really think of pirates?

This is where the story becomes interesting. The term “Agenic AI” refers to AI systems that can operate with a level of autonomy, similar to a human analyst, but at the speed of the ​machine. In practice, this could mean stopping an ongoing attack, even before it was ​marked for human examination.

It’s a big bar. But ​according to cases of early use of ReliaQuest, the promise has weight. A CISO from a Fortune 500 client, speaking anonymously, shared ​that their response ​time dropped by 80%, and they avoided several costly breaks simply due to automation triggers catching anomalies before climbing.

In this sense, ReliaQuest builds not only a better dashboard, but also a smarter partner ​for the security ​team.

If ​AI ​Agenic becomes the new ​standard, it remains to be seen. But with over $500 million in support, ReliaQuest has ​the capital and credibility to take this bet.

We are witnessing a company that transforms cybersecurity from a reactive task list into a proactive mission control. It is a seismic change that could not ​be more opportune.