Estonian firm Blackwall hits $2.2B valuation with new funding for web security
The company raised $100m to help hosts filter AI agents and bots using a partner-focused sales model.
Key points
- Blackwall secured $100 million in Series C funding at a $2.2 billion valuation.
- The investment was led by AVP, with existing investors Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures and Tera Ventures.
- The firm targets hosting providers rather than direct website owners, allowing white-label security solutions.
Estonian cybersecurity firm Blackwall has raised $100 million at a $2.2 billion valuation to expand its web traffic filtering tools, according to TechCrunch. The funding round aims to support the company’s focus on helping websites manage increasing volumes of automated bot and artificial intelligence agent traffic that often disrupts normal operations.
The Series C investment was led by AVP, with participation from existing backers Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures and Tera Ventures. Blackwall’s executive chairman Roi Carthy stated that this round quadrupled the company’s valuation compared to its previous fundraising event in 2025. The capital will fuel the development of security products designed for the complex challenges of modern web infrastructure.
What we know
Blackwall differentiates itself by avoiding direct competition with major infrastructure players like Cloudflare or Akamai. Instead, the company employs a channel strategy, selling its technology to web hosting, managed service and cloud providers. These partners can then customise and rebrand Blackwall’s tools for their own clients, maintaining control over the customer relationship while sharing revenue.
Co-founder and CEO Nikita Rozenberg explained that hosting companies can mix security components to build tailored solutions. Providers set their own prices and keep a share of the revenue. Blackwall offers a free tier that displays network threats and traffic data, but charges for the specific protection tools required to address those identified risks.
The firm’s technology examines web traffic to distinguish legitimate visitors and authorised AI agents from malicious bots. Rozenberg noted that the company uses digital fingerprinting to identify the software sending requests, such as Microsoft Office or Codex, allowing them to filter out unwanted automated activity effectively.
Defender's checklist
- Review how your hosting provider handles automated traffic and bot management.
- Verify whether your security solution distinguishes between legitimate AI agents and malicious bots.
- Check if your provider offers transparent reporting on traffic types and threat sources.
- Ensure your security tools can be customised to fit specific business needs without vendor lock-in.
The background in plain language
Web traffic filtering helps organisations separate genuine human visitors from automated programs known as bots. While some bots perform useful tasks, many scrape data or launch attacks. Security tools analyse digital signatures and behaviour patterns to identify these programs. Hosting providers often act as intermediaries, offering these protections to their clients. Understanding this distinction helps teams manage resources and protect services from disruption caused by unwanted automated activity or rogue artificial intelligence agents.
Background: AI agents
AI agents are the software entities that perform specific tasks using instructions from large language models. Agentic AI is the architectural approach that grants these agents autonomy to plan, reason and act. You use agents as tools within agentic AI systems to achieve complex, multi-step outcomes without manual oversight at every stage.
Read the full guide: AI Agents vs Agentic AI: The Distinction That Matters
What to do and how to stay safe: Blackwall
- Evaluate whether your current hosting provider offers advanced bot protection and traffic analysis.
- Request details on how your provider distinguishes between legitimate automated agents and malicious traffic.
- Monitor your network for unusual traffic spikes that may indicate automated scraping or attacks.
- Confirm that your security solution allows for customisation and white-labeling if you are a service provider.
Step-by-step guide: AI Governance for Small Teams: Practical Controls and Cost
General security guidance from the TechWire Beat newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.
Frequently asked questions
How much funding did Blackwall raise in its latest round?
Blackwall raised $100 million in its Series C funding round.
What is Blackwall's new valuation?
The company’s valuation is now $2.2 billion, which is four times higher than its previous valuation.
Who led Blackwall's latest investment round?
The Series C round was led by AVP, with participation from Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures and Tera Ventures.
