What happened
Cloud security startup Upwind announced it has raised $250 million in a Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Picture Capital, and other existing investors. The round brings Upwind’s total funding to approximately $430 million and values the company at roughly $1.5 billion. The company says it will use the capital to expand its cloud security platform globally and invest in data, AI, and code security capabilities.
Who is affected
Upwind’s investors, customers, and the broader cloud security market are directly impacted. The company’s runtime-first platform is already used by large enterprises, including Siemens, Nubank, Roku, and Waste Management to reduce alert noise and focus teams on actionable threats in cloud environments. The funding also signals investor confidence in runtime-centric cloud security approaches.
Why CISOs should care
The new funding underscores the growing importance of runtime-first security as cloud environments evolve with real-time and AI-driven workloads. Traditional static scanning and snapshot-based tools can generate high volumes of low-value alerts, whereas runtime context can improve the accuracy and prioritization of real risk. For CISOs, this trend highlights the need to evaluate tools that reduce noise and accelerate response without disrupting DevOps workflows.
3 practical actions
- Assess runtime security integration: Review whether your current cloud security stack includes runtime visibility to complement posture and configuration scanning. Runtime insights can improve threat detection and prioritization.
- Reevaluate alert noise: Measure false-positive rates and analyst workload across your cloud security tools; consider vendors with strong signal-to-noise ratios to reduce operational burden.
- Align with DevOps: Ensure cloud security tools work effectively with development and deployment workflows, minimizing friction while providing real-time risk context for faster mitigation.