Island Becomes Dallas' Newest Unicorn Weeks After Emerging From Stealth

Just weeks after emerging from stealth, a local tech startup has become the region’s newest unicorn.

Island, a company that says it’s creating the “desktop of the future,” unveiled a $115 million Series B funding round led by Insight Partners at a $1.3 billion valuation, bringing its total amount raised to more than $200 million since exiting stealth in early February.

“Island has created a whole new way of thinking about enterprise work,” said Mike Fey, Island CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “The enthusiasm from our customers and the IT community has been extraordinary… and increased investment from our original funding partners validates our product-market fit, accelerates our momentum, and highlights the huge opportunity in front of us.”

‘A revolutionary product meets a real market need’

Formed in 2020, Island’s enterprise-focused browser is built upon Chromium, which powers names like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. The browser protects a company’s SaaS tools and internal web applications from data leaks with security features like web filtering and isolation, exploit prevention, and zero-trust network access. And with eyes on the movement toward a more hybrid work environment, access through Island’s browser can be managed for contractors and bring-your-own-device workers.

Fey told TechCrunch that the rapid pace of Island’s growth can be attributed to “very fortunate” customer demand. While the company hasn’t disclosed the names of those customers, it previously said it’s been working with “several” Fortune 500s and other mid-sized businesses. Fey told VentureBeat that Island also has customers in nearly all major verticals, especially in spaces like financial services, retail, and technology—adding that about 80% of Island’s briefs with execs end with Island being brought in for evaluation with the company.

“When a revolutionary product meets a real market need, it’s essential to capitalize on that momentum and continue to expand the opportunity,” said Jeff Horing, co-founder and managing director of Insight Partners, in a statement. “Island is in a position to significantly change the industry.”

Island’s rapid rise

The new investment builds on the nearly $100 million Island raised last month, which was also led by Insight, and includes returning investors Stripes and Sequoia Ventures. The new valuation is more than double what Bloomberg reported it to be before Island started making sales.

Funding isn’t the only thing that’s growing at Island. At the beginning of the month, the company announced it’s expanding its operations to Europe by opening an office in Reading, England, and naming former Forescout Technologies VP Ashley Brinsford as its head of EMEA sales. The new office adds to Island’s existing Dallas headquarters and its R&D operations in Tel Aviv. Globally, Island has more than 100 employees, and it plans to double its headcount over the coming months.

Late last month, Island unveiled a new lineup of “investor advisors” to its team, including Silicon Valley CISO Investments, former AppDynamics President Joe Sexton, and Transmit Security co-founders Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar. Island also includes Cyberstarts as a backer.

“When we set out to build the Enterprise Browser, we aimed to deliver tremendous value to security professionals from day one,” said Dan Amiga, co-founder and CTO at Island, in a statement. “And it’s exciting to see that we’re already accomplishing that. But what we’re noticing now is the huge opportunity to solve previously insurmountable problems not only in the security space, but across productivity and IT as well.”