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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Upwind announced a $250 million Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation on January 26, 2026. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round. The $1.5 billion figure is no longer the most recent valuation reported for the company: on September 2, 2026, Calcalist reported that Upwind had raised about $300 million at roughly a $3.8 billion valuation. Treat the January numbers as a historical milestone, not the current valuation.
What Upwind announced in January 2026
The company published its Series B announcement on January 26, 2026, and said the financing would support deeper investment in its platform, customer support, and expansion across AI, data, and code. The table below separates the January round from the later financing that Calcalist reported in September.
| Item | Figure | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series B amount | $250 million | January 26, 2026 | Upwind announcement |
| Valuation attached to the Series B | $1.5 billion | January 26, 2026 | Upwind; Calcalist report of the same date |
| Total investment after the Series B announcement | More than $430 million | January 2026 | Upwind announcement |
| Later financing | About $300 million | September 2, 2026 | Calcalist report |
| Valuation in the later financing | Roughly $3.8 billion | September 2, 2026 | Calcalist report |
The later figures are Calcalist’s reporting, not a company announcement quoted in the sources available here. The cumulative investment total after that round is not stated.
TechCrunch reported that the January proceeds would go toward product development, go-to-market work, and AI security capabilities. Read the company’s own description in its Series B announcement and TechCrunch’s funding coverage.
#1 Best Overall
Who led and joined the round
Bessemer Venture Partners led the round. TechCrunch reported that Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital also participated. Those are the participants named in coverage, not necessarily a full list of every investor.
Bessemer published its own perspective on the investment, describing it as support for a runtime-first cloud security platform aimed at enterprise environments. That is the lead investor’s rationale for backing the company. It is not independent confirmation that Upwind outperforms its competitors. Bessemer’s piece is available in its investor announcement.
Rank #2
What Upwind does
Upwind is a cloud security software company founded in October 2022 in San Francisco by the team behind Spot.io. Calcalist describes its platform as a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) that combines several functions:
- Cloud security posture management
- Cloud workload protection
- Cloud detection and response
- Vulnerability management
- Identity security
- Container security
The “runtime-first” label means the platform analyzes live cloud environments to help rank vulnerabilities and alerts by priority. Upwind and its investor say this reduces noise and improves protection. Those are company and investor claims. The coverage available here does not present them as independently measured results.
Growth figures and who reported them
Two outlets reported growth figures that came from Upwind. They use different comparison periods, so they should not be combined or read as one number.
| Metric | Reported figure | Reported by | Comparison period as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | Approximately 900% | Calcalist, January 2026, citing Upwind | Since the previous funding round |
| Revenue growth | 900% year-over-year | TechCrunch, January 29, 2026, citing Upwind | Year-over-year |
| Customer growth | Approximately 200% | Calcalist, January 2026, citing Upwind | Since the previous funding round |
| Customer base | Doubled | TechCrunch, January 29, 2026 | Not stated |
| Headcount and customers | 300+ employees; 150+ customers | Upwind newsroom snapshot, accessed October 8, 2026 | Not stated; the snapshot shows no publication date |
None of these figures has been independently audited in the coverage cited here. The newsroom snapshot is a current company page, so its numbers reflect the date it was viewed rather than a fixed reporting period. The company’s newsroom is the place to check for updates.
How the valuation moved
- October 2022: Upwind is founded in San Francisco.
- January 26, 2026: The company announces a $250 million Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation, led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
- January 29, 2026: TechCrunch publishes its funding report and CEO interview.
- September 2, 2026: Calcalist reports that Upwind raised about $300 million at roughly $3.8 billion, a headline that describes the valuation as more than doubled in five months.
The step from $1.5 billion to roughly $3.8 billion is about 2.5 times. That comparison is only meaningful because both valuations are dated. Calcalist’s report is the source for the later round; the sources cited here do not disclose the lead investor, deal terms, or cumulative total for that financing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the founders said
Upwind co-founder and CEO Amiram Shachar told Calcalist on January 26, 2026: “Cloud infrastructures have evolved far faster than the security models designed to protect them.”
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn a January 29, 2026 interview with TechCrunch, Shachar said: “Three years ago, we would spend hours asking ourselves if we were heading in the right direction, and 80% of the time, it felt like we weren’t.”
How to read startup valuation headlines
A round’s valuation is the value implied by the price investors paid in that round. It is not a market price that you can look up and trade. Upwind is a private company, so its shares do not trade on a public exchange, and a headline valuation does not tell an ordinary reader what a share is worth today.
- Keep the amount raised and the valuation separate. A $250 million round at a $1.5 billion valuation does not mean the new money bought a fixed percentage you can calculate from these headlines. The sources do not disclose ownership terms.
- Check the date on every valuation. The $1.5 billion and $3.8 billion figures belong to different rounds and should be compared only with their dates visible.
- Identify who is reporting a metric. Growth numbers in this coverage come from the company, repeated by journalists, and in some cases tied to different periods.
- Read the investor’s account as one side. Lead investors publish their reasons for investing, which is useful context but not an outside assessment.
What the public record does not settle
- The lead investor, deal terms, and total raised in the September 2026 financing, beyond the amount and valuation reported by Calcalist.
- Dilution, preferred share rights, and any other ownership or payout terms for either round.
- Whether the growth figures would hold up under independent review.
Reader interest in this story is mainly informational. Upwind sells enterprise cloud security software, and the financing news does not offer a way for an individual reader to invest in the company through these reports.
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