40. Cylance
Founders: Stuart McClure, Ryan Permeh
Launched: 2012
Funding: $77 million
Valuation: $290.8 million
Disrupting: Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence
Rival: Symantec
Cylance, an Irvine, California-based firm, claims to be revolutionizing cybersecurity with products and services that prevent rather than simply detect threats and malware. Stuart McClure, the former chief technology officer at antivirus software firm McAfee and co-author of the book "Hacking Exposed," and Ryan Permeh, the former chief scientist at McAfee, started the company in 2012.
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Both men realized from their years of experience in network and computer security that companies needed a more effective and proactive way of dealing with cyberthreats and malware than what existed on the market.
Unlike reactionary methods and behavior monitoring that most cybersecurity firms employ, Cylance says its uses artificial intelligence to analyze a file's characteristics and predict whether that file is safe or a threat to the host.
The company's customers include Panasonic, Toyota, The Gap and GameStop, to name a few, as well as government agencies. Since its founding, Cylance has raised $77 million from investors, including Blackstone, DFJ Growth and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and is valued at about $290 million.