Chainguard Secures $140 Million in Series C Funding Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners
Chainguard, a provider of secure open-source solutions, has successfully closed a $140 million Series C funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, alongside Redpoint Ventures and IVP. This latest round brings Chainguard’s total funding to $256 million and boosts its valuation to $1.12 billion in less than a year.
As open-source software becomes a cornerstone of modern development—accounting for approximately 90% of production code—Chainguard is addressing the critical security challenges associated with it. The company’s flagship product, Chainguard Images, offers a secure method for eliminating vulnerabilities (CVEs) from essential container images. This focus is particularly relevant as organizations navigate the complexities of vulnerability management in the face of rapidly evolving technologies like AI.
In the first half of the fiscal year, Chainguard reported an impressive fivefold increase in its customer base and a remarkable 175% growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). To support this rapid expansion, the company has doubled its workforce, enabling it to serve a growing list of clients, including major players like Snowflake and Canva.
Dan Lorenc, CEO and Co-Founder of Chainguard, emphasized the company’s role in enhancing security: “Chainguard provides an essential layer of security for the open-source consumption model, allowing developers to focus on creating exceptional software with the confidence that they are building on a secure, vulnerability-free foundation.”
Additionally, Chainguard has introduced Chainguard AI Images, a suite of container images optimized for CPU and GPU workloads. These images include popular frameworks such as PyTorch and Kafka, designed to minimize vulnerabilities and ensure secure deployment in AI applications.
Leading tech companies and government agencies are now utilizing Chainguard’s secure container images to protect their software supply chains. The company is also expanding into international markets and enhancing its offerings for federal clients to meet rigorous compliance standards.
Investor enthusiasm for Chainguard’s growth is evident. Arsham Memarzadeh of Lightspeed Venture Partners remarked, “Chainguard has developed a unique product that transforms the landscape of software security.” Tom Loverro from IVP added that the company provides immediate ROI by alleviating the resource burden of managing software vulnerabilities, helping organizations prevent security breaches.
The founding team of Chainguard—comprising Dan Lorenc, Matthew Moore, Kim Lewandowski, and Ville Aikas—brings extensive experience from their time at Google, where they contributed to significant open-source projects like Kubernetes. Their shared vision aims to reduce the maintenance burden on developers, allowing them to focus on innovation rather than remediation.
“Chainguard is redefining open-source security,” stated Sai Senthilkumar of Redpoint Ventures. “The strong product-market fit is clear, and we are excited to support their journey as they establish themselves as the industry standard for secure software development.”
With ongoing investments in product development and leadership—such as the recent appointments of Kendra Mitchell as VP of People and Caitlin Quinlan as SVP of Go-to-Market Strategy—Chainguard is poised for substantial growth as it continues to innovate in the realm of open-source security.
