Blackwall raises $100M at $2.2B valuation to fight bot traffic
Estonia-based security firm Blackwall secured a Series C round to expand its web traffic filtering tools for hosting providers and cloud infrastructure partners.
Key points
- Blackwall raised $100 million in a Series C round led by AVP, valuing the company at $2.2 billion.
- The funding represents a fourfold increase in valuation since the company's previous raise in 2025.
- The firm uses a channel model, selling security tools to hosting providers rather than directly to websites.
Estonia-based Blackwall announced on Tuesday that it has raised $100 million in a Series C funding round. The investment values the web security company at $2.2 billion, according to TechCrunch.
The round was led by AVP, with participation from existing investors Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures, and Tera Ventures. Executive chairman Roi Carthy stated that this round increased the company’s valuation by four times compared to its previous fundraising event in 2025.
Business Model and Strategy
Blackwall differentiates itself from larger competitors like Cloudflare and Akamai by avoiding direct sales to website owners. Instead, the company employs a channel approach, partnering with web hosting, managed service, and cloud providers. These partners can customize Blackwall’s tool bundles and offer them to their own clients under their own branding.
Co-founder and CEO Nikita Rozenberg explained that hosting companies can mix and match security components to build tailored solutions. Partners set their own prices and share revenue with Blackwall. The company provides a free tier that displays traffic and threats, but charges for protection tools and mitigation services.
Threat Landscape and Technology
Web infrastructure companies are dealing with skyrocketing volumes of bot traffic, including malicious requests, DDoS attacks, and indiscriminate scraping. Blackwall’s tools help differentiate legitimate visitors and AI agents from malicious bots and intruders.
The company uses techniques such as digital fingerprinting to identify the software sending a request. For example, it can distinguish traffic from Microsoft Office or Codex. This allows providers to filter out disruptive traffic while allowing legitimate AI agents and human users to access services.
What should you do?
Hosting providers and website administrators should review their current bot management strategies. As AI agent traffic grows, distinguishing between legitimate automation and malicious scraping becomes more complex. Organizations should ensure their security tools can identify specific software fingerprints and provide visibility into traffic sources.
What to do and how to stay safe: Blackwall
- Audit current web traffic logs to identify unknown or unclassified bot agents accessing your infrastructure.
- Verify that your hosting provider or security vendor offers tools capable of distinguishing legitimate AI agents from malicious bots.
- Implement digital fingerprinting or similar identification methods to block requests from known malicious software signatures.
- Monitor for spikes in traffic volume that may indicate DDoS attacks or indiscriminate scraping campaigns.
Step-by-step guide: Prompt Injection Warning Signs: How to Spot AI Manipulation
General security guidance from the Threat Times newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.
Frequently asked questions
How much funding did Blackwall raise?
Blackwall raised $100 million in a Series C round, according to TechCrunch.
What is Blackwall’s valuation?
The company is now valued at $2.2 billion, a fourfold increase since 2025.
Who are the investors in this round?
The round was led by AVP, with participation from Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures, and Tera Ventures.
