The rounds valued Roblox at $29.5 billion and Lacework in excess of $1 billion.

The new year is off to a good start with two funding rounds, each over $500 million, announced in its first week. Fast-growing Lacework, which allows companies to build securely in the cloud, closed a $525 million Series D round, earning a valuation tag of more than $1 billion. Online games platform Roblox raised $520 million in a Series H round that valued it at $29.5 billion.

Both companies benefited from the digital shifts triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Altimeter Capital was a lead investor in both companies’ rounds.

Lacework

Lacework grew its revenues 300% over the past year, with 83% of enterprise workloads moving to the cloud according to a 2020 survey by LogicMonitor. The pandemic pushed companies to move to cloud services and that reflected in Lacework’s revenue numbers. (CrunchBase)

The shift to the cloud resulted in higher demand for security services from Lacework.

The funding round was led by Sutter Hill and Altimeter Capital.  D1 Capital Management, Coatue, Dragoneer Investment Group, Liberty Global Ventures, Snowflake  Ventures, and Tiger Global Management also participated.

Lacework will use the funds for product development, sales, and market and international expansion, particularly in Europe. It is also looking to double its workforce by the end of 2021.

Roblox

Roblox is a global online games platform. It’s $ 520 million series H funding was led by Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group. The Investment Group of Santa Barbara and Warner Music Group, along with several current investors, also participated. (Roblox)

The company witnessed dramatic growth during the pandemic because children spent more time playing games during lockdowns and shelter-in-place restrictions.

The company said the financing would advance its growth initiatives and the goal to build a human co-experience platform shared by billions of users.

“While once viewed as a gaming platform, Roblox has emerged as a definitive global community connecting millions of people through communication, entertainment, and commerce,” said Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter. “And as the world moves toward a hybrid future – where online and offline community and learning co-exist, we are proud to back a values-driven business that takes seriously its obligation to build an inclusive, creative, and positive community.”

In a way, Roblox is looking to become more of a social platform.

The valuation of $29.5 billion achieved by Roblox in the latest round marks a seven-fold increase since February 2020.

The company is also moving ahead with the direct US share listing of its Class A common stock, it said in a statement.

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