Insight Partners To Buy Cybersecurity Firm Armis For $1.1B

Insight Partners, a U.S.-based firm, has purchased Israeli cybersecurity firm Armis for around $1 billion, according to reports on Monday.

Armis specializes in protection for the Internet of Things, which refers to the interconnection with the internet embedded in daily objects allowing them to send and receive data.

According to Israeli financial news website Calcalist, Armis employs around 240 people in Palo Alto, California and Tel Aviv. Armis stated on its website that it “will continue to operate independently and will be fully managed by its two co-founders, Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO, and Nadir Izrael, CTO, and executive team, while leveraging the support of Insight’s industry-leading business strategy and ScaleUp division, Onsite. Closing is expected to occur in February and is subject to customary conditions and approvals.”

Insight Partners, which is a venture capital and private equity firm, recently opened an office in Tel Aviv last October.

Armis’ services involve protecting services on the IoT such as medical infusion pumps or those used in production lines at car manufacturers by identifying suspicious or malicious sources and quarantining them.

Last April, Insight participated in a $65 million funding round for Armis, which brought the company’s total funding to $112 million. The round was led by Sequoia Capital.

The drive toward supply chain digitization is fueling a rush of investments into the Internet of Things. The IoT is considered a game-changer for the industry, due to its potential to boost the efficiency of operations and also provide data on intelligence and analytics. But downsides like large technological overhauls and security concerns have made it difficult for large companies.

Insight Partners is regularly involved in funding rounds for tech companies. It also recently invested in Silicon Valley software innovator LeanTaaS; it put in $61 million to the health care firm, which works to increase access and lower costs.

Insight Partners also participated in a funding round for Sweden-based Detectify, which was intended to help detectives stay abreast of security issues. Insight Partners contributed part of the $21 million for the program.

Insight Partners was also involved in a funding round for commercetools, which works in investments for retail software leaders.