NEW YORK — Laika, which operates a compliance platform for large businesses, has closed $50 million in Series C funding led by Fin Capital, with participation from new investor Centana Growth Partners as well as existing investors, including J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, Canapi, and ThirdPrime.
The new funding will support Laika’s continued product development and accelerating sales, marketing, and strategic partnerships. The round brings Laika’s total funding to $98 million.
Today’s buyers require their software vendors to demonstrate compliance, which has made SOC 2 table-stakes for tech companies of all stages. To navigate an increasingly complex web of InfoSec frameworks and standards, startups need compliance automation software combined with expert guidance to help minimize complexity and make smart decisions that will scale as they grow. Laika is the only solution that combines an advanced compliance automation platform with integrated auditing, penetration testing, and expert guidance to make compliance accessible and affordable. Companies using Laika build trust with enterprises faster and win more business.
“Laika has filled a unique gap in the rapidly-growing compliance automation and audit management space, by providing the only comprehensive, centralized compliance platform,” said Christian Ostberg, Partner at Fin Capital and the lead investor in Laika’s Series C. “By combining automation of InfoSec workflows with the integrated, tech-enabled audits, Laika has set themselves as the clear market leader shaping this fast-growing category.”
In the last year, Laika says it has grown its active user base by more than 1000% and grew employee headcount by 50% to support adoption and growth. 87% of Laika customers opt for a subscription package that includes an integrated IT audit, underscoring the strength of the value proposition with customers. On average, Laika customers achieve 60% faster SOC 2 audits and complete audits in weeks, not months.
“For decades, Centana has been closely following various approaches in governance, risk and compliance GRC to identify the next generation of security compliance,” said Eric Byunn, Partner at Centana Growth and also a new investor in Laika’s Series C. “Laika’s platform, which creates a seamless end-to-end compliance management and audit experience, stands apart in a market dominated by check-the-box solutions.”
“As a two-time founder, I’ve seen digital compliance become a serious blocker for founders and innovators. But beyond blockers are the potential risks, including serious financial, reputational, and even criminal penalties,” said Austin Ogilvie, co-CEO of Laika. “Laika mitigates these risks by marrying automation best practices in software development with principled fundamentals borne from audits in finance. This funding gives us the resources to dial-up our partnerships and platform strategy, grow our sales organization, and invest in marketing to broaden our audience reach and, ultimately, enable more customers to reach these critical compliance objectives.”
In addition to compliance automation and audit management, Laika offers solutions for supporting the corporate procurement process, integrated penetration testing, automated security questionnaires, RFPs, and Vendor Assessments, employee background checks, and for external management of Compliance Related documents (Digital Compliance Portals), many of which come complimentary with a Laika subscription.
