What UpGuard does

UpGuard is a privately held cybersecurity company founded in 2012 that operates a unified Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) platform, marketed as "powered by the GRID," with global headquarters in Hobart, Australia and US headquarters in Mountain View, California. The platform consolidates five tightly integrated product modules — Vendor Risk (third-party cyber risk management), Breach Risk (external attack surface management with AI threat monitoring and brand protection), User Risk (human risk management including Shadow AI discovery), Trust Exchange (AI-powered security questionnaire automation with a Trust Center), and Risk Automations (an AI workflow engine orchestrating remediation across 100+ tools) — underpinned by a proprietary Gaussian-weighted security rating algorithm that scores organizations out of 950 based on passive scanning of over 100 billion risk signals daily across 15 million organizations.

The platform's customer base spans more than 50,000 organizations across 90+ countries, with named enterprise logos including NYSE/ICE, ANZ, Tech Mahindra, Morningstar, CFA Institute, Meta, Amazon, Tesla, Chemist Warehouse, Anglo-Eastern, and Boston University, alongside a long tail served through the free Trust Exchange tier. UpGuard generates revenue primarily via annual SaaS subscriptions on its four core modules, a freemium-and-paid motion on Trust Exchange, managed TPRM professional services, and a multi-year Premium Assurance tier offering data residency across US, Australia, EU, India, and Canada with dedicated CSMs and 24/7 priority support.

Go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise direct sales for the core risk modules, product-led growth through Trust Exchange, channel partnership via Internet2 NET+ for research and higher education, and marketplace listings on ServiceNow App Store and Zapier. As of February 2026, UpGuard had raised approximately $94 million in total outside capital across a $19 million Series B-1 in June 2021 and a $75 million Series C led by Springcoast Partners, with the company valued at over $400 million in 2024 per Forbes.

Name

UpGuard

Legal name

UpGuard, Inc.

Website

https://upguard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

UpGuard is an AI-powered Cyber Risk Posture Management platform spanning vendor, attack surface, workforce, and trust relationships, serving 50,000+ organizations across 90+ countries via subscription, freemium, and managed services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cyber Risk Posture Management Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Attack Surface Management (EASM/CAASM) (HDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Configuration & Exposure Hardening (CIS/Benchmarking) (HDADAHAH), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (HDADADAI), Executive/Board Security Advisory & Risk Briefings (BPAKADAK)

Keywords

• Third-party risk management
• Attack surface management
• Vendor security ratings
• Security questionnaire automation
• Cyber risk posture management

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountain View

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vendor Risk SaaS Subscription: Core SaaS subscription revenue from UpGuard's Vendor Risk platform, providing AI-powered third-party risk management, vendor discovery, security questionnaire automation, continuous monitoring, remediation, and reporting. Sold primarily through enterprise sales with demos and Premium Assurance tier.
2. Breach Risk / Attack Surface Management Subscription: Recurring subscription for Breach Risk platform offering attack surface management, AI-powered threat monitoring, and brand protection features including impersonation detection and lookalike domain monitoring.
3. User Risk / Human Risk Management Subscription: Subscription-based Human Risk Management solution covering shadow AI monitoring, policy governance, and contextual guidance for workforce risk management.
4. Trust Exchange Freemium and Paid Plan: Freemium tier with free Trust Center and Questionnaire AI; paid tier (Trust Exchange Paid) offers expanded features including 15 questionnaire imports per month, custom domains, multiple Trust Centers, watermarked PDFs, and white labeling — upsell/land-and-expand dynamic.
5. Risk Automations Platform Subscription: Subscription revenue from Risk Automations AI workflow engine for risk operations centers, integrating with 100+ tools and offering automated remediation workflows.
6. Managed TPRM Professional Services: Professional services offering with dedicated UpGuard analysts who manage vendor assessments end-to-end including vendor communication, document analysis, and reporting. Includes Premium Assurance tier with designated CSM, data residency, and 24/7 priority support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

UpGuard is an AI-powered Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) platform built on the GRID architecture that unifies third-party vendor risk management, external attack surface monitoring, human workforce risk management, security questionnaire automation, and AI-driven risk remediation workflows. Its core product modules — Vendor Risk, Breach Risk, User Risk, Trust Exchange, and Risk Automations — share a proprietary security ratings engine, continuous monitoring across billions of daily risk signals, and deep integrations with 100+ enterprise tools.

Product overview

UpGuard offers a unified Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) platform (marketed as "powered by the GRID") that combines five tightly integrated product modules: Vendor Risk (third-party/AI-powered TPCRM), Breach Risk (external attack surface management with AI threat monitoring and brand protection), User Risk (human risk management including Shadow AI discovery), Trust Exchange (free questionnaire automation and Trust Center, with a Paid tier for white-label/multiple Trust Centers), and Risk Automations (an AI-driven workflow engine that triages and resolves risks across 100+ integrated tools). Underpinning these modules is UpGuard Security Ratings (a proprietary Gaussian-weighted score out of 950 derived from billions of daily data points), Reporting & Dashboards, the UpGuard API, plus TPRM Services (analyst-led assessments) and Premium Assurance (data residency, dedicated CSM, priority support). Together the modules replace fragmented tools with a single platform that unifies detection, prioritization, orchestration, and reporting across the vendor ecosystem, external attack surface, and workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vendor Risk: Holistic third-party cyber risk management (TPRM) platform delivering continuous vendor insights, 360-degree assessments, and AI-powered workflows.
• Breach Risk
• User Risk
• Trust Exchange
• Risk Automations

Products and services

• Vendor Risk
• Breach Risk
• User Risk
• Trust Exchange
• Trust Exchange Paid
• Risk Automations
• UpGuard Security Ratings
• TPRM Services (Managed Vendor Risk Assessments)
• Premium Assurance

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000 hours of assessment time saved (equivalent to two personnel per year) for St John WA
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration27 records

AI capability11 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Internet2coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 April 2026UpGuard's Vendor Risk product joined the Internet2 NET+ service portfolio following a competitive procurement process involving 14 higher education institutions. The NET+ UpGuard program launched in May 2026 to help research and education institutions streamline vendor assessments with AI-powered workflows, continuous vendor monitoring, and coordinated assessments including HECVAT and IT accessibility standards.
• ServiceNowcoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration as UpGuard CyberRisk app on ServiceNow App Store providing instant vendor security ratings in the ServiceNow Vendor Risk module. Also part of Risk Automations 100+ tool integrations.
• Jira (Atlassian)coreTechnology or IntegrationNative Jira Cloud integration allows users to send issues directly from UpGuard into Jira Cloud projects; integrates with Risk Automations workflow engine.
• SlackcoreTechnology or IntegrationNative Slack integration for sending UpGuard notifications to Slack channels; supports Risk Automations AI-triage messages.
• Microsoft TeamscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration for security notifications and Risk Automations AI-triage messages in Microsoft Teams workspaces.
• SplunkcoreTechnology or IntegrationSIEM and observability integration in Risk Automations platform.
• Microsoft EntracoreTechnology or IntegrationSecurity and identity integration in Risk Automations platform.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud and infrastructure integration in Risk Automations platform.
• ZapiercoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with 4,000+ apps via Zapier, enabling workflows connecting UpGuard to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, project management, CRM, and other tools.
• StartmateflagshipOthersUpGuard is described as the most successful startup in Australian accelerator Startmate's history. Startmate's portfolio companies have increased their collective value to $4.5 billion.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• BitSight: Direct competitor in the security ratings and third-party risk management category, offering externally observable cyber risk scores on a continuous basis. BitSight is the most established incumbent in the same primary product category UpGuard occupies.
• SecurityScorecard: Direct competitor offering A-F graded security ratings and a TPRM platform that overlaps heavily with UpGuard's Vendor Risk and Breach Risk modules. Competes head-to-head on enterprise TPRM deals and on G2 in the same category.
• RiskRecon (Mastercard): Mastercard-owned attack surface management and TPRM platform directly comparable to UpGuard's Breach Risk and Vendor Risk. Mastercard distribution and payments ecosystem give RiskRecon unique enterprise reach, intensifying the competitive overlap.
• Panorays: Direct TPRM competitor specializing in AI-driven vendor security assessments, questionnaires, and risk ratings. Competes with UpGuard Vendor Risk and Trust Exchange on similar enterprise security teams.
• ProcessUnity: Direct TPRM platform competitor offering vendor risk management workflows, assessments, and continuous monitoring for enterprise security and procurement teams. Closely comparable to UpGuard's Vendor Risk module.
• Whistic: Direct competitor in Trust Exchange-style proactive security assessment sharing, vendor security questionnaires, and Trust Center publishing. Closely comparable to UpGuard's Trust Exchange and Trust Exchange Paid offerings.
• Prevalent: Direct TPRM competitor with vendor risk assessments, network intelligence, and continuous monitoring capabilities. Overlaps with UpGuard Vendor Risk on enterprise TPRM workflows.

Broad incumbents

• OneTrust: Broader trust intelligence platform that includes TPRM, privacy, consent, and GRC capabilities. While not a single-category specialist, OneTrust overlaps with UpGuard Vendor Risk and Trust Exchange through its Third-Party Risk and Trust Intelligence offerings, particularly for large enterprises seeking consolidation.
• Tenable: Large incumbent in vulnerability management and exposure management with adjacent TPRM capabilities through Tenable Lumin and ExposureAI. Overlaps with UpGuard Breach Risk on attack surface monitoring and could compete on enterprise consolidation deals.

Emerging players

• Censys: Attack surface management platform focused on internet-wide asset discovery and exposure monitoring. Comparable to UpGuard's Breach Risk attack surface and continuous monitoring functionality, particularly around CVE and misconfiguration detection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/upguard
• Facebookfacebook.com/UpGuard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upguard

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors14 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UpGuard