As smart as they are widely-known to be, human beings just cannot avoid making a mistake. This dynamic has already been reinforced quite a few times throughout our history, with each testimony practically forcing us to look for a defensive cover. To the world’s credit, we’ll solve our conundrum in the most fitting way possible, and we’ll do so bringing dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. Having a well-defined authority across each and every area was a game-changer, as it instantly gave us a safety cushion against our many shortcomings. Now, the kind of utopia you would expect from such a development did arrive, but at the same time, it was all very short-lived. Talk about what exactly caused its sudden death, the answer has to keep technology at the heart of everything. You see, the moment technology’s layered nature took over the scene, it allowed people an unprecedented chance to fulfill their ulterior motives at the expense of others. In case this didn’t sound bad enough, the whole runner soon began to materialize on such a massive scale that it expectantly overwhelmed our governing forces and sent them back to the drawing board. After a lengthy spell in the middle of nowhere, though, it seems like the regulatory contingent is finally ready to make a comeback. This has only gotten more and more apparent over the recent past, and truth be told, a new piece of funding does a lot to make that trend bigger and better moving forward.
Laika, the industry’s first complete compliance platform, has successfully secured over $50 million in Series C financing. Led by Fin Capital, the round saw further participation coming from the likes of Centana Growth Partners, J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, Canapi, and ThirdPrime. According to certain reports, the company will use the newly-raised cash to support its continued product development. Beyond that, it also plans on dedicating a chunk of the money towards accelerating sales, marketing, and strategic partnerships. Founded back in 2019, Laika started out with an intention to help companies in navigating through what is a pretty complex web of InfoSec frameworks and standards. To realize this goal, the New York-based company created a solution, which is designed to combine an advanced compliance automation platform with integrated auditing, penetration testing, and expert guidance so to make compliance accessible and affordable for everyone.
“Laika has filled a unique gap in the rapidly-growing compliance automation and audit management space, by providing the only comprehensive, centralized compliance platform,” said Christian Ostberg, partner at Fin Capital and the lead investor in Laika’s Series C. “By combining automation of InfoSec workflows with the integrated, tech-enabled audits, Laika has set themselves as the clear market leader shaping this fast-growing category.”
Laika’s excellence is wholly evident in the fact that it grew its user base by a whopping 1000% over the last year, while also expanding workforce by 50% to support the stated growth. Going by the available details, nearly 87% of Laika customers opt for a subscription package that includes an integrated IT audit, and as for the results, these customers have been able to accelerate their SOC 2 audits, on average, by 60%.
“As a two-time founder, I’ve seen digital compliance become a serious blocker for founders and innovators. But beyond blockers are the potential risks, including serious financial, reputational, and even criminal penalties,” said Austin Ogilvie, co-CEO of Laika. “Laika mitigates these risks by marrying automation best practices in software development with principled fundamentals borne from audits in finance.
