Startup profile for Isovalent: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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Isovalent funding, valuation and investors

Creators of Cilium and Tetragon eBPF networking — acquired by Cisco in April 2024.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series B

$40M · September 2022

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$69M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

acquired

acquired · Cupertino, California

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Thomvest Ventures

Other: Andreessen Horowitz , Google , Cisco

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

Isovalent was a cloud-native networking and security company and the primary commercial steward of open-source projects Cilium (Kubernetes networking) and Tetragon (eBPF security observability). Founded by eBPF pioneers including CEO Liz Rice and CTO Thomas Graf, the company raised venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Cisco, and others before Cisco announced its acquisition in December 2023 and completed it on April 12, 2024. Cisco integrated Isovalent technology into its Security Cloud and Nexus One fabric strategy.

Why Isovalent is interesting

Isovalent turned Linux kernel eBPF into the de facto cloud-native networking layer (Cilium) that AWS, Google, and Azure adopted — then Cisco bought the company to anchor Hypershield and multicloud security. a16z backed from Series A through acquisition.

Product & use cases

Isovalent commercialized Cilium for Kubernetes networking, security, and observability using eBPF in the Linux kernel, plus Tetragon for runtime security visibility. Enterprise offerings extended CNCF-graduated open source with support, distribution, and cloud integrations.

  • Kubernetes cluster networking with identity-aware policies at scale
  • Runtime security and observability via eBPF without sidecar overhead
  • Multicloud workload connectivity integrated into Cisco Nexus One fabric post-acquisition

Key facts

  • Acquired by Cisco — completed April 12, 2024 (Cisco newsroom)
  • Series B (Sep 2022): $40M led by Thomvest; a16z, Google, Cisco participated
  • Cilium is CNCF graduated; used by major cloud providers and AI/LLM Kubernetes workloads
  • Acquisition price not publicly disclosed

Funding history (newest first)

Series B

2022-09 $40M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/cisco-to-acquire-cloud-native-networking-and-security-startup-isovalent/

Series A

2020-11 $29M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/cisco-to-acquire-cloud-native-networking-and-security-startup-isovalent/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Isovalent's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz

Competitive landscape

Edge: Isovalent's team authored much of the eBPF and Cilium ecosystem — giving them credibility hyperscaler-backed rivals couldn't match. Strategic investors Google and Cisco participated before Cisco acquired the company, validating Cilium as infrastructure-grade.

Cloud-native networking converged on eBPF as Kubernetes scaled. Cilium won major cloud provider endorsements, making Isovalent acquisition bait for Cisco's security and multicloud push. Open-source continuity post-deal matters — Cisco pledged ongoing Cilium/Tetragon community support.

  • Calico (Tigera) direct

    Leading Kubernetes network policy alternative; different dataplane architecture (often iptables/IPAM vs Cilium's eBPF-native approach).

  • HashiCorp Consul adjacent

    Service mesh and service discovery; overlaps on east-west connectivity but not kernel-level eBPF networking.

  • Datadog / Sysdig adjacent

    Cloud observability and security vendors; compete for eBPF-based visibility budgets vs Isovalent's networking-first wedge.

Notable stories

  • Cisco had already invested in Isovalent's Series A and B before acquiring the company — a classic strategic-vendor-to-buyer path in infrastructure.
  • Post-acquisition, Isovalent's eBPF team became central to Cisco Hypershield and Nexus One fabric extensions for Kubernetes VM and pod networking.

Industries

Infrastructure & Cloud Cybersecurity Developer Tools

FAQs about Isovalent

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Isovalent led commercial development of Cilium (Kubernetes eBPF networking) and Tetragon (security observability). Cisco acquired the company in 2024.
Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) led the Series A. a16z also participated in the Series B alongside Google and Cisco — before Cisco acquired Isovalent.
Cisco announced the deal in December 2023 and completed the acquisition on April 12, 2024.
An open-source Kubernetes networking and security project using eBPF. Isovalent was its primary commercial backer before the Cisco acquisition.
Both provide Kubernetes networking. Cilium/eBPF offers kernel-level programmability and performance advantages; Calico has a longer legacy install base with varied dataplane options.
Yes — Cisco stated commitment to nurturing eBPF, Cilium, Tetragon, and related open-source communities.
Public rounds include ~$29M Series A (2020) and $40M Series B (2022). Acquisition terms were not disclosed.
The team included eBPF leaders such as Liz Rice (CEO) and Thomas Graf (CTO), major contributors to the Cilium project.
To integrate cloud-native eBPF networking into Cisco Security Cloud and multicloud fabric products (Hypershield, Nexus One) as Kubernetes became the default AI workload platform.
Series B-stage private company with strategic investors already on the cap table.
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