Darktrace

About Darktrace

Financials

Dated, source-cited figures. Estimates are marked.

Products by Darktrace

All products by Darktrace reviewed by our AI panel of experts.

DarktraceAI Security

Self-Learning AI cybersecurity across network, email, cloud, OT, identity, and endpoints

Free7.8/10

How Our Review Panel Scores Darktrace

Six independent reviewer personalities assessed Darktrace's product on their own terms. They disagreed by 1.9 points — The Finance Lead was the hardest to convince, The Domain Strategist the most positive.

Averaged across 1 reviewed product in our catalog. Scores are out of 10.

Competitive Landscape

Who Darktrace competes with, and how they differ.

Vectra AI7.9/10

Also an AI-driven network detection and response platform; Vectra is privately held and network/hybrid-cloud focused, while Darktrace is a broader multi-domain (network, email, cloud, OT) platform now owned by Thoma Bravo.

1 product reviewed on TopReviewed

CrowdStrike8.3/10

Endpoint-first XDR leader (Falcon) built around lightweight agents and threat-intelligence-driven detection, versus Darktrace's agentless, network-traffic-based anomaly detection approach.

1 product reviewed on TopReviewed

Microsoft7.8/10

Bundles Defender and Sentinel into enterprise licensing (Microsoft 365 E5), competing on price and incumbency rather than Darktrace's dedicated, vendor-agnostic anomaly-detection engine.

9 products reviewed on TopReviewed

Palo Alto Networks8.2/10

Its Cortex XSIAM platform pursues the same AI-driven, unified security-operations positioning as Darktrace but is built out from a much larger network and firewall hardware business.

1 product reviewed on TopReviewed

Abnormal AI7.9/10

Competes directly with Darktrace/Email on API-based, behavioral-AI email security, without Darktrace's broader network, cloud, and OT product line.

1 product reviewed on TopReviewed

E

ExtraHop

Pure-play network detection and response vendor most frequently benchmarked against Darktrace in analyst NDR comparisons; privately held (Bain Capital-backed) versus Darktrace's ownership under Thoma Bravo.

Company Timeline

Key milestones in Darktrace's history, with sources.

1. Mar 9, 2026Milestone

   Ed Jennings named President and CEO

   Darktrace appointed Ed Jennings, formerly CEO of Quickbase and COO of Mimecast, as President and CEO effective 23 March 2026, succeeding interim CEO Charles Goodman.

   globenewswire.com
2. Jan 27, 2026Milestone

   CEO Jill Popelka steps down after 16 months; Charles Goodman named interim CEO

   Popelka departed amid reports that owner Thoma Bravo wanted faster revenue growth; Board Chairman Charles Goodman became interim CEO while the board searched for a permanent successor.

   businesscloud.co.uk
3. Oct 1, 2024Acquisition

   Thoma Bravo completes $5.3B acquisition; Darktrace delisted from LSE

   The scheme of arrangement became effective; Darktrace shares were suspended and its London Stock Exchange listing and FTSE 100 membership were cancelled as the company became privately owned by Thoma Bravo.

   finance.yahoo.com
4. Sep 6, 2024Milestone

   CEO Poppy Gustafsson steps down; Jill Popelka succeeds her

   Gustafsson, a Darktrace co-founder and CEO since 2020, stepped down effective immediately; COO Jill Popelka was named her successor weeks ahead of the Thoma Bravo deal closing.

   darktrace.com
5. Aug 19, 2024Milestone

   Co-founder and major shareholder Mike Lynch dies in yacht sinking

   Mike Lynch, whose Invoke Capital seed-funded Darktrace and who held roughly a 3% stake at his death, died when the superyacht Bayesian sank off Sicily on 19 August 2024; his body was recovered and his death confirmed on 22 August.

   pbs.org
6. Apr 26, 2024Acquisition

   Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire Darktrace for $5.32B

   Thoma Bravo agreed an all-cash offer of $7.75 (620p) per share, a 20% premium, valuing Darktrace's equity at approximately $5.32B (about $4.99B enterprise value). This was Thoma Bravo's second approach, after a 2022 attempt collapsed.

   thomabravo.com
7. Jul 18, 2023Milestone

   EY review finds no material accounting issues; no restatement required

   An independent review by Ernst & Young identified a small number of process errors and inconsistencies in channel contracts but found nothing material to Darktrace's previously filed financial statements; shares rose over 20% on the news.

   cityam.com
8. Feb 1, 2023Milestone

   Short seller Quintessential Capital Management alleges accounting irregularities

   QCM published a report alleging "round-tripping," "channel-stuffing," and sales to "phantom end-users" in the run-up to Darktrace's IPO; Darktrace publicly refuted the allegations the same day. An allegation, not an established finding.

   marketscreener.com
9. Sep 7, 2022Milestone

   Thoma Bravo takeover talks collapse; Darktrace discloses revenue restatement

   Thoma Bravo withdrew from a potential takeover after failing to agree terms; hours later, alongside its first results as a public company, Darktrace disclosed a £3.3M revenue restatement. Shares fell 31%.

   infosecurity-magazine.com
10. Jan 17, 2022Milestone

    Short seller ShadowFall discloses short position, calls business "watery-thin"

    Hedge fund ShadowFall (Matthew Earl) disclosed a short position taken in October 2021 and alleged in a client report that Darktrace's underlying business was weak and its addressable-market claims overstated; shares fell 7.6%. An allegation, not an established finding.

    investments.halifax.co.uk
11. Apr 30, 2021Funding

    IPO on London Stock Exchange raises £165.1M at £1.7B valuation

    Darktrace listed on the LSE at 250p per share (ticker DARK), raising £165.1M and valuing the company at £1.7B (about $2.4B); shares closed up roughly 40% on debut.

    cnbc.com
12. 2013Founded

    Darktrace founded in Cambridge, UK

    A team of University of Cambridge mathematicians and cyber-intelligence experts founded Darktrace, seed-funded by Mike Lynch's Invoke Capital.

    invokecapital.com