SGNL, a rapidly growing identity-first security startup, announced it secured $30 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate its mission of redefining how businesses protect their most critical assets. This funding round was led by Brightmind Partners, a security-focused firm co-founded by Stephen Ward, former Partner at Insight Partners, Home Depot CISO, and former Secret Service cybersecurity leader. And additional participation from Costanoa Ventures, Microsoft’s M12, and Cisco Investments validates growing confidence in SGNL’s approach.
This latest funding round brings SGNL’s total raised to $42 million since its founding in 2021. And the company is set to expand go-to-market efforts, accelerate product development, and enhance customer support.
Traditional IAM (identity and access management) and PAM (privileged access management) solutions have been designed for static and on-premises environments. And these outdated models rely on rigid, role-based access controls that struggle to scale with cloud-driven operations. This results in increased risk, compliance failures, and operational inefficiencies.
SGNL takes an identity-first approach and is rewriting the playbook by eliminating static credentials and automating access decisions in real-time. Rather than pre-assigned roles requiring constant maintenance, SGNL ensures that employees, contractors, and partners get access at the right time and lose it when it’s no longer needed. This results in tighter security, lower operational costs, and reduced compliance burdens.
Over the past year, SGNL has gained significant traction with multiple Fortune 50 companies and a growing roster of Fortune 500 enterprises. One Fortune 50 company replaced its costly, outdated access management system with SGNL, reducing 30,000 role assignments to just six policies to manage while tightening access controls across its global workforce.
With this new funding round, SGNL is doubling down on its mission to modernize enterprise access security by investing in:
– Talent Acquisition- Expanding the team with top-tier go-to-market and product talent.
– Open Standards & Partnerships – Strengthening commitment to open security frameworks and customer-focused integrations.
– Market Expansion – SGNL’s market presence is growing across industries and driving adoption among Fortune 500 enterprises.
KEY QUOTES:
“We provide enterprises with a smart, more flexible way to manage privileged access. Legacy vendors haven’t innovated for more than a decade, and the approaches that served them well in the past simply don’t work today. The current cloud-first, AI era demands a more dynamic, real-time approach—one that eliminates standing access, improves security, and reduces operational burden.”
“We keep hearing the same frustration from enterprises. Despite companies spending more on PAM and IGA tools, these platforms are becoming more expensive and less effective at securing their environments. Customers tell us they need a solution that actually adapts to their business, not one that adds more overhead and complexity. SGNL is meeting this need with a modern, intelligent approach that makes identity-first security seamless, scalable, and effective.”
- Scott Kriz, Co-Founder & CEO of SGNL
“As the former CISO of a Fortune 50 company, I saw firsthand how enterprises were investing tens of millions in PAM and IGA systems, expecting stronger security, but instead, these solutions often added complexity and operational overhead without solving the core challenges. For what enterprises face today, these traditional approaches are inherently flawed and ripe for disruption.”
- Stephen Ward of Brightmind Partners
