Bot attacks, automated cybersecurity intrusions that mimic human behavior at scale, are growing in intensity, frequency, and complexity. In fact, it’s estimated that 27.7% of all online traffic is attributable to malicious bots that are looking to take nefarious and disruptive actions like account takeovers, scraping, form and API abuse, and payment fraud that leave enterprises vulnerable. DataDome is a SaaS platform focused on detecting and preventing bot attacks and online fraud for the enterprise. The company uses a proprietary machine learning engine to assess internet visits in real-time (less than 2 milliseconds) by using 3M+ signals to protect attacks on apps, websites, and APIs with 99.99% accuracy. DataDome is trusted by 300+ organizations like ZocDoc, Foot Locker, Rakuten, Reddit, Asus, Tripadvisor, and McDonald’s; last year the company stopped 250B+ online fraud attempts.
AlleyWatch caught up with DataDome CEO and Founder Benjamin Fabre to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
This is a Series C funding round of $42M. This round was led by InfraVia Growth, with participation from existing investors Elephant, ISAI, and others, to support DataDome on its mission to rid the web of bot-driven cyberattacks and fraud.
Tell us about the product or service that DataDome offers.
DataDome’s solution helps protect websites, mobile apps, and APIs from automated cyber attacks and online fraud. With machine learning at the edge and a 24/7 threat intelligence team, we prevent bot-driven fraud, including fake account creation, account takeover, credential stuffing, and more. DataDome detects and responds to sophisticated attacks with unparalleled speed and accuracy – without ever compromising the consumer experience. Our AI-powered bot detection engine processes more than 3 trillion signals every day to protect the largest global online enterprises in real-time.
What inspired the start of DataDome?
I founded DataDome in 2015 with my long-time business partner Fabien Grenier. We’re serial entrepreneurs and both had long track records in scalable web infrastructures, AI-powered data stream processing, SaaS technologies, digital strategy, and cybersecurity.
Working with digital companies in previous jobs, Fabien and I noticed that most were unable to detect and block even the simplest of bots, which ultimately exposed their vulnerabilities to fraudsters. We saw a need for a solution that could block automated online threats, but in a different way. We needed to depart from the usual approach; static rules, no matter how quickly updated, would always be a step behind.
We made a key decision to build ML at the edge to assess every request to a website, mobile app or API. It was a significant challenge to do this in real time without impacting the end-user’s experience. But we ultimately achieved what we set out to do. Since we founded the company, the level of bot sophistication and the numerous pains they inflict, have skyrocketed. Our decision to deviate from “business as usual” is what helped propel DataDome into a leadership position.
How is DataDome different?
There is often a tradeoff between speed and accuracy among other bot and online fraud protection providers. Not with DataDome. Unlike other solutions, DataDome detects and responds to attacks with unparalleled speed, accuracy, reliability, and expertise using machine learning monitored by our in-house Security Operation Center (SOC) to stop fraud before it happens. In other words, we provide automated detection with 24/7 adult supervision.
We also offer the most integrations, the greatest transparency, and a uniquely consumer-focused approach. Getting more granular:
- The only real-time detection on the market: DataDome analyzes each request anew, in real time (<2ms) using numerous techniques: signature-based detection; vulnerability scanning rules; IP/Autonomous system reputation; session reputation; HTTP/JS/ device fingerprinting; TLS fingerprinting; behavioral analysis; machine learning & more. New bad bots are detected every millisecond.
- Unmatched ease of configuration: Compatible with 100% of infrastructures, DataDome requires no change to the application. Set-up & configuration take <5 min in full autonomy, thanks to 20+ out-of-the-box connectors, the ability to add JS tag to pages in a few clicks, and optimized SDKs. For customers under attack, fully efficient protection is achieved <10 min from the time they activate their DataDome account.
DataDome offers the first privacy compliant, secure, and user-friendly CAPTCHA to thwart today’s stealthiest bots. A feature of DataDome’s Online - Fraud & Bot Management solution, DataDome’s CAPTCHA is compliant with local data privacy laws around the globe, and is completely integrated into its detection engine, offering superior protection and an enhanced user experience: DataDome is the first vendor to ensure that 99.99% of real users will not see a CAPTCHA.
- Invisible for end-users: DataDome’s high availability and no-added-latency makes its protection completely invisible for 99.99% of end-customers. Users whose sessions get challenged benefit from an enhanced user experience and industry-leading privacy protection. DataDome’s false positive rate is undetectable, 0.01%.
- Superior performance: We process more than 3 trillion pieces of data every day. Latency is minimized through global elastic computing capabilities: it takes less than 2 ms for a decision to be made by the detection engine. High availability (SLA over 99.99%) & redundancy are guaranteed by DataDome’s 25 worldwide points of presence from multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, OVH, Vultr, etc.). Scalability relies on DataDome’s infrastructure, which can automatically absorb up to 200x its average traffic in less than 1 minute.
What market does DataDome target and how big is it?
Any business with an online presence, regardless of industry, needs online fraud and bot protection. 50% of online traffic is made up of bots, which cybercriminals use to target online businesses with fraud and other attacks. There’s no denying bots (which are growing more advanced by the second to bypass security measures) disrupt digital business operations, and put data security and CX at risk; just ask retailers about the Sony PS5 launch, or major brands like TicketMaster and Nike, which recently made headlines in their fight against bots.
We know that online businesses are bearing the consequences of automated cyberattacks and online fraud, and it’s a costly situation to be stuck in. Enterprises need a cybersecurity solution that puts them back in the driver’s seat and empowers them to fight fraud. That’s what we’re here to do. In 2022 alone, we stopped over 250 billion fraud attacks!
300+ enterprises worldwide trust DataDome, across industries like e-commerce, media, travel, ticketing, healthcare, and local governments. We empower them with the data they need to go on the offense against online fraud. It’s a win for everybody — except for fraudsters and threat actors.
300+ enterprises worldwide trust DataDome, across industries like e-commerce, media, travel, ticketing, healthcare, and local governments. We empower them with the data they need to go on the offense against online fraud. It’s a win for everybody — except for fraudsters and threat actors.
What’s your business model?
SaaS with services.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
We have always invested in delivering the best solution to keep our customers safe from bots and online fraud. As a result, we’ve enjoyed an extremely high customer retention rate (98%) and new customer acquisition rate (over 100% year-on-year in the US). Our solution proves essential for digital businesses. Not only does it help our customers mitigate risks, it also positively impacts their bottom line; we help reduce fraud costs by 95% and significantly contribute to cloud cost optimization.
What was the funding process like?
Truth be told, we weren’t looking to raise funds at this time. But InfraVia shares our vision of bot mitigation as the foundation for online fraud prevention, which made for a compelling case!
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We are fortunate to have demonstrated significant growth with very responsible cash efficiency. So fundraising was a matter of finding the right partner for our next phase of growth, which we did in InfraVia. We’re also very grateful to continue to receive the support of our earlier investors, who share into our vision for the market.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
As Guillaume Santamaria, Partner at InfraVia (who led this funding round) said, “We were genuinely impressed by the sophistication of DataDome’s solution, as well as the company’s growth trajectory, especially in the US. DataDome perfectly embodies our commitment to growth technology companies, and we fully endorse the team’s vision of bot management as a foundation for fighting online fraud. We are very much looking forward to the next phase of DataDome’s evolution and global scale.”
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We will continue to put all of our effort behind stopping fraud in its tracks, which means blocking even more online fraud attempts than we did in 2022. We are also working on some new products I am particularly excited about, and I would be happy to brief you when we get closer to their launch!
We will continue to put all of our effort behind stopping fraud in its tracks, which means blocking even more online fraud attempts than we did in 2022. We are also working on some new products I am particularly excited about, and I would be happy to brief you when we get closer to their launch!
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Every situation is different, but customer centricity is core to success in my opinion: Are you solving a major pain point for your customers? Are you doing it better than other providers on the market? Are you demonstrating value from day one? After all, growth is driven by customer adoption!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Because online fraud is such a massive, looming threat – and a growing market – we intend to focus on global commercial rollout, and R&D efforts to ensure our solution maintains its award-winning competitive edge, and stays well ahead of bot developers and fraudsters.
Where’s the best place to hold a team offsite in the city?
We’re a global company and are fortunate to be able to connect with our colleagues at offsites abroad.
