Proofpoint Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tessian

OCT 30, 2023

BY BALDERTON

Proofpoint Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tessian, a leader in the use of advanced AI to automatically detect and guard against both accidental data loss and evolving email threats. The acquisition is expected to close in late 2023 to early 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including any required regulatory approvals.

Balderton first invested in Tessian back in 2018, co-leading the company's Series A alongside Accel. 

Proofpoint protects organizations against social engineering attacks by applying award-winning AI and large language models (LLMs) to block threats and provide real-time threat insights. AI-based detection has proven to be notably effective in identifying threats targeting people, such as email fraud and supplier-based attacks, and preventing data loss due to negligent or malicious actions. With the acquisition of Tessian, Proofpoint will enhance its threat and information protection platforms by adding powerful layers of AI-powered defense that address risky user behaviors, including misdirected email and data exfiltration.

Our long-standing vision to secure the human layer has been the driving force behind our innovative platform offering inbound email security, as well as outbound data loss prevention. By joining forces with Proofpoint, we can empower organizations to further improve their email security posture, reduce the risk of data breaches, and lighten the workload on their security teams.

Tim Sadler, CEO and founder of Tessian

Tessian founders

More than nine in 10 organizations have dealt with a data breach caused by an end-user error on email. Using behavioral understanding and machine learning, Tessian's AI-powered email security platform will enhance Proofpoint’s email data loss prevention (DLP) offering by addressing accidental data loss and malicious insiders through its seamless Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace deployment. Tessian solutions include:

  • Tessian Guardian: Protects sensitive data, helps customers meet regulatory compliance and confidentiality agreements, and eliminates the risk of reputational damage by preventing misdirected emails and mis-attached files.
  • Tessian Enforcer: Automatically protects against data exfiltration and safeguards intellectual property without predefined rules or deny-lists.
  • Tessian Defender: Context-aware, AI-based email defense that detects and prevents the full spectrum of email attacks, while providing end users with in-the-moment contextual warning banners to help them decide whether an email is safe.

Tessian’s solutions are expected to become part of Proofpoint’s offering upon the closing of the acquisition.

Balderton Partner Suranga Chandratillake with Tessian CEO Tim Sadler

Read more from Tessian CEO Tim Sadler

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