Protecting customers’ clouds is just as important for managed security service providers to do as any other aspect of cybersecurity. But they need tools they can rely on, and not just in the short term. (After all, demand for cloud security will surpass $12 billion by 2025.)

Startup Lightspin aims to be one of those providers that stays on the scene for a long time. The cloud security startup just landed $16 million in Series A funding, for a total of $20 million. The Israel-based company earned new buy-in from Dell Technologies Capital, as well as from existing supporter Ibex Investors.

Lightspin’s Vladi Sandler

Lightspin co-founder and CEO Vladi Sandler called Dell’s investment “a show of faith.” Dell sees Lightspin “as a stable and promising company,” Sandler told Channel Futures. Part of the $16 million, then, will go toward showing the indirect channel that Lightspin is a key player in cloud security.

“New MSSPs are continuously being added to our partner network, and we are hopeful that this new round will give our partners, current and future, confidence in working with a well-funded and grounded vendor,” Sandler said.

Indeed, Lightspin already has demonstrated its value to the industry. Earlier this year, the vendor found a gap between AWS Identity and Access Management user and group policies. The oversight was one that cybercriminals could have exploited to a significant degree. Attackers could have taken over accounts, deleted group members, stolen data and shut down services.

Lightspin’s Or Azarzar

“[G]enerally it can lead to an AWS account compromise,” Or Azarzar, Lightspin co-founder and CTO, told Channel Futures in March.

Crisis averted, though, thanks to Lightspin’s technology and research arm.

‘Exceptional Growth and Technical Innovation’

That kind of proactive work helped Lightspin firm up funding from Dell.

“There is strong consensus within the CISO network that Lightspin has built the right platform to understand and prioritize the risks of potential attacks in cloud environments,” said Alon Weinberg, director at Dell Technologies Capital. “By providing clear context and actionable remediation options, Lightspin is also bridging the gap between DevOps and security teams both in the build stage and in production.”

Ibex Investors’ Nicole Priel

Nicole Priel, partner at Ibex Investors, agreed.

“Lightspin has demonstrated exceptional growth and technical innovation using graph-based algorithms to effectively protect cloud and Kubernetes environments, all while relieving security owners of alert fatigue,” Priel said. “We are delighted to continue supporting Lightspin in their journey to provide real value to customers while maintaining an open-source repository for the broader community.”

As far as what Lightspin will do with the money, expect the following:

Specific to the channel, Sandler has additional plans.

“Since coming out of stealth mode, Lightspin has dedicated significant resources for various channel initiatives, including the hiring of Head of Business Development, Amber Katz, to lead the effort,” Sandler said. “New initiatives include signing with dozens of MSSPs and VARs to facilitate expansion inside the U.S., as well as into Canada, EMEA and Australia; technology partnerships with other leading cloud security vendors; and open-source initiatives and collaborations to continue giving back to the community.”

Lightspin teams with partners via “a number of flexible models,” Sandler said. Those include sharing resources and strategizing together to develop go-to-market approaches together.

“Value-added services to our partners include tailor-made materials for internal use and distribution, as well as joint ventures such as webinars and training,” he noted.

‘Delighted’

Lightspin was founded last year. The company developed a context-based cloud security platform for cloud-native and Kubernetes environments. The product provides a full and contextual view of all cloud assets and relationships. Further, it maps potential attack paths, and prioritizes and remediates critical security issues. Lightspin says its customers include fellow startups as well as Fortune 500 corporations.

Perhaps for Sandler, however, the greatest endorsement of Lightspin’s capabilities comes from the $16 million infusion.

“We are delighted to have the faith of such experienced and proven investors behind us to build the next generation of cloud security.”