Every couple of years, industrial cybersecurity makes a comeback with investors — and it looks like it’s that time again now.

Startup Nozomi Networks locked up a $100 million Series E from investors including Mitsubishi Electric and Schneider Electric. The San Francisco-based company offers industrial security — also called operational technology (OT) security — and IoT security platforms.

While Nozomi — which says it protects more than 105 million OT, IoT and IT devices globally — announced an investment of an undisclosed amount from Johnson Controls in 2022, it last did a funding deal with an announced amount of cash in 2021 when it raised $100 million.

“As we meet with customers around the world, the reality is that they operate highly heterogeneous environments and are looking for a security platform that can effectively defend those environments,” Edgard Capdevielle, president and CEO, said in a statement. “This investment clearly underscores the need and support for OEM-agnostic security solutions in light of today’s escalating attacks against critical infrastructure around the world.”

OT investment of the rise

The Nozomi deal is noteworthy due to the increasing investor interest in OT security recently.

Just last week, New York-based Claroty secured $100 million in strategic debt/credit financing led by Delta-v Capital. That came after Hanover, Maryland-based Dragos raised a $74 million round from WestCap last September.

While the sector is not threatening generative AI’s hold on investors, it does show once again investors — especially strategics — are eyeing the industry as attacks and threats mount. New OT security platforms have long been thought to hold potential, however securing older industrial control systems that were designed decades ago — long before cyberattacks were a reality — have proven difficult to build.

Back in 2021, the industry saw an influx of fresh capital, with Claroty, Armis Security and Dragos all raising large rounds.

Several years before that, around 2018-19, many of those same companies raised big money, as a wave of M&A also gripped the sector.

Founded in 2013, Nozomi has raised $266 million, per Crunchbase.

Illustration: Dom Guzman