Blackwall Raises $100M in Series C, Quadruples Valuation to $2.2B as AI Agents Reshape Web Traffic

Blackwall Secures $100 Million Series C at $2.2 Billion Valuation

Blackwall, an Estonia-based cybersecurity firm specializing in web traffic security tools, announced on Tuesday that it has closed a $100 million Series C funding round at a $2.2 billion valuation1

1

2

2

. The round was led by AVP, with participation from existing investors Dawn Capital, MMC Ventures, and Tera Ventures. Executive chairman Roi Carthy confirmed the funding round quadruples valuation to $2.2 billion, marking a fourfold increase since the company's previous fundraise in 20251

1

. The deal arrives just weeks after Blackwall achieved unicorn status, making it Estonia's newest billion-dollar company and positioning the firm as Europe's most valuable cybersecurity scaleup, though that title faces competition from Exein, which reached a $1.7 billion valuation2

2

.

Addressing the Bot Traffic Crisis Through Hosting Providers

Blackwall has carved out a distinctive position in the crowded cybersecurity market by refusing to compete directly with giants like Cloudflare, Akamai, and Imperva. Instead, the company employs a channel approach, partnering with web hosting providers, managed service providers, and cloud providers to deliver its security platform1

1

. These hosting providers can customize Blackwall's bundle of tools, rebrand them, and offer them to their own clients while maintaining control of customer relationships. Co-founder and CEO Nikita Rozenberg explained that hosting companies can mix and match security components to build tailored solutions, set their own prices, and share revenue with Blackwall1

1

. The platform covers bot mitigation, DDoS protection, web application firewalls, load balancing, and encryption, filtering billions of requests daily2

2

. Blackwall initially provides a free tier showing traffic and threats hitting networks, but charges for protection tools that address those threats.

AI Agents Driving Demand for Traffic Security Tools

The surge in AI agent web traffic has become a defining challenge for web infrastructure. Research from Imperva indicates that bots now account for 53% of all internet traffic, with AI agents contributing to the growing automation of web interactions2

2

. Blackwall uses digital fingerprinting techniques to identify the software sending requests—distinguishing between legitimate tools like Microsoft Office or Codex and malicious bots1

1

. The company deploys its own AI models at customer endpoints to analyze the intent and behavior of incoming requests, separating genuine agent-driven requests from disruptive traffic. Warda Shaheen, general partner at AVP, stated: "Blackwall has built something rare: a security company that grows with the internet itself. It is already the layer in front of millions of websites, and as more of the web's traffic comes from agents, the company in that position becomes indispensable"2

2

.

Betting on the Agentic Web's Future

Rozenberg sees significant opportunity emerging as AI agents begin interacting and transacting with websites on behalf of users. This shift will require systems to manage which agents receive access, under what terms, and how they are authorized to make payments1

1

. Norman Fiore, general partner at Dawn Capital, emphasized the urgency: "A tsunami of agents will overwhelm infrastructure optimised for human traffic"2

2

. While Cloudflare offers AI Crawl Control that lets website owners allow, block, or charge individual AI crawlers for access, Rozenberg argues that Blackwall's advantage lies in enabling hosting providers to offer traffic management services themselves rather than surrendering customer relationships to another security provider1

1

. Competitors like DataDome and Netacea have raised smaller rounds targeting similar opportunities, but Blackwall maintains its distribution through hosting providers gives it a strategic edge in the agentic web landscape.

Expansion Plans and Market Context

Blackwall plans to deploy the funding round capital to expand operations across 12 regions in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, while developing additional security tooling for hosting, cloud, and managed service providers1

1

2

2

. The raise comes as European cybersecurity funding climbs sharply. The sector raised 1.3 billion euros across 64 rounds in the first half of 2026, representing approximately 125% growth compared to the previous year2

2

. The company originated from a practical problem: co-founder Denis Prochko built a recipe site that attracted floods of automated traffic, crowding out real visitors. He and Rozenberg transformed that solution into BotGuard, which evolved into the Blackwall platform now serving millions of websites through its hosting provider partnerships.