Tel Aviv-based cloud security provider Cato Networks announced Monday that it raised $359 million in Series G funding at a valuation of more than $4.8 billion.

Investors in the round include Vitruvian Partners and Ion Crossover Partners, joined by existing backers Lightspeed Venture Partners, Acrew Capital and Adams Street Partners.The new financing brings total funding to date for the 10-year-old company to over $1 billion.

The fundraise comes amid a comparatively upbeat period for cybersecurity funding. So far this year, investors have poured just over $7 billion into global startups in the space, per Crunchbase data.

Investment rose sequentially in Q1 of this year, as well as Q2, which winds to a close today. Besides Cato, other mega-round recipients include AI-powered data security platform Cyera, which raised $540 million earlier this month, and endpoint security provider NinjaOne, which landed $500 million in February.

Cato is focused on SASE, or secure access service edge, a networking and security category that provides a single cloud-based network to connect and secure physical, cloud or mobile enterprise resources.

Among the touted benefits of SASE is that it helps enable secure remote work. That’s been a high-demand capability given that enterprises today rely heavily on remote and hybrid workforces. And with the exception of some high-profile return-to-office mandates, that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future.

Looking forward, Cato said it plans to use the latest funding to expand capabilities enabling customers to securely adopt AI, increase its R&D spending, and grow its global footprint.

The financing also comes amid a growth period for “ultra-unicorns,” or private companies valued at $5 billion or more. Per Crunchbase data, at least 17 companies joined this cohort in just the first half of 2025 — including high-profile players such as Thinking Machines Lab, Glean and Abridge. While Cato hasn’t quite crossed the $5 billion threshold — it’s really, really close.

Related Crunchbase query:

Related reading:

Illustration: Dom Guzman