BlackWall
Blackwall (formerly BotGuard) is an Estonian cybersecurity company that delivers bot mitigation and web security through its GateKeeper reverse proxy platform, distributed via 100+ hosting and managed service providers to protect SMB customers across 30+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersTallinn, Estonia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What BlackWall does
Blackwall (formerly BotGuard), founded in 2019 and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, is a cybersecurity company specializing in bot mitigation and web security for the hosting provider and managed service ecosystem. Its flagship product, GateKeeper, is an advanced reverse proxy built primarily in C++ and Go that operates at web traffic entry points across a distributed server cluster spanning 30+ countries. The platform performs deep traffic inspection to neutralize L7 DDoS attacks, brute-force attempts, and automated bot traffic, with integrated modules for Web Application Firewall (WAF), HTTP/3 (QUIC) support, automated SSL certificate lifecycle management, content caching, and load balancing. The system combines signature-based detection with behavioral analysis and anomaly heuristics, drawing on traffic patterns, connection fingerprints, and device signals across 2.3M+ protected websites and applications.
Blackwall's go-to-market is overwhelmingly channel-led, distributing GateKeeper through 100+ hosting service providers (HSPs), managed service providers (MSPs), and regional system integrators who embed the technology or resell it as bundled or à la carte security services to their SMB end-customers. Native integrations with cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, ISPmanager, and WHMCS enable low-friction deployment for hosting operators, while one-click deployment on AWS, DigitalOcean, and Vultr marketplaces provides a self-serve entry point for cloud-native customers. Revenue is generated through tiered monthly subscriptions with dynamic commercial terms; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Partners reportedly achieve 10-25% operational cost reduction and 30-40% revenue uplift per customer when bundling Blackwall, creating a shared-economics model that aligns the vendor with channel growth.
As of March 2025, the company employed 65 people and had raised approximately €57M in venture funding (€12M Series A led by MMC in March 2024, €45M Series B led by Dawn Capital in March 2025). The company operates as a fully remote organization with employment contracts available in Estonia, the UK, Spain, and Germany. Its board includes Dawn Capital's Norman Fiore and, as Executive Chairman, Roi Carthy (Co-Founder & CEO of Hudson Rock). Geographic expansion is actively underway, with stated focus on U.S. and APAC markets and a first Southeast Asia entry via a Vietnam HOSTVN partnership announced in June 2026. GDPR compliance is documented through a published Data Processing Agreement, and the company maintains GDPR data processor status with customers acting as data controllers.
BlackWall firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- BlackWall
- Legal name
- Botguard OÜ
- Website
- https://blackwall.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Blackwall (formerly BotGuard) is an Estonian cybersecurity company that delivers bot mitigation and web security through its GateKeeper reverse proxy platform, distributed via 100+ hosting and managed service providers to protect SMB customers across 30+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
BlackWall industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bot Mitigation and Web Application Security
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Edge Security Delivery (DDoS, WAF, Bot Mitigation at Edge) (HDABAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud Network Security (Microsegmentation, Cloud Firewall, WAF, DDoS) (HDABAHAJ), DDoS Mitigation & Traffic Scrubbing (Edge/ADC‑Adjacent) (HDAFAHAJ)
Keywords
Where BlackWall is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tallinn
- HQ country
- Estonia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
BlackWall business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription-based Security Services: Blackwall generates recurring revenue through subscription-based security services sold to hosting providers and their SMB end-customers. Partners can offer security as bundled services or premium add-ons. Pricing follows tiered plans with varying feature sets and usage levels. The model creates recurring income streams for both Blackwall and its channel partners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription-based tiers with dynamic commercial terms |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
BlackWall product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blackwall sells GateKeeper, an advanced reverse-proxy web security and traffic-filtering platform that protects websites and applications from malicious bots, L7 DDoS attacks, brute-force attempts, and automated scraping in real time. The platform combines AI-driven bot detection, a Web Application Firewall, intelligent L7 load balancing, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3 support, automated SSL management, and content caching, and is delivered primarily as a subscription service to Hosting Service Providers, Managed Service Providers, and cloud platforms who resell or embed it for their SMB end-customers. A cloud-based Website Protection service and an on-premises deployment option are also offered, alongside a REST API for partner automation.
Product overview
Blackwall (formerly BotGuard) is a unified web security platform built around its flagship product GateKeeper — an advanced reverse proxy with integrated bot detection, WAF, load balancing, and traffic optimization capabilities. The platform is designed for service and hosting providers to protect SMB customers and offers both cloud-based protection and on-premises deployment options. Key modules include WAF for threat mitigation, load balancing for high-availability, and anti-scraping mechanisms. The system operates at web traffic entry points, performing deep inspection to neutralize threats before they reach application backends.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GateKeeper: Flagship product - a high-performance web security and traffic filtering solution engineered for web hosting providers to safeguard cloud-based assets, data centers, and web clusters. Performs deep traffic inspection and filtering to neutralize malicious requests in real time.
Products and services
- GateKeeper Scalable, high-availability reverse-proxy web security and traffic-filtering platform for hosting providers that performs deep traffic inspection and filtering at the web traffic entry point to neutralize L7 DDoS attacks, brute-force attempts, and automated bot traffic in real time, while obfuscating backend infrastructure and optimizing traffic flow.
- Blackwall Cloud Website Protection Cloud-based bot management and website protection service that analyzes traffic, identifies visitors, and blocks malicious bots without requiring server installation; users can monitor traffic in no-blocking mode before enabling blocking rules.
- GateKeeper On-Premises Deployment Self-hosted security solution for direct deployment within a hosting provider's infrastructure under their own branding, offering full control over security policies, access management, and billing automation.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2.3M+ websites and applications protected globally
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use BlackWall
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
BlackWall technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration13 records
AI capability3 records
Feature10 records
BlackWall partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- HOSTVNcoreVietnam-based hosting provider partnership to launch HOSTVN Website Protection service. This marks Blackwall's first expansion into Southeast Asia. The collaboration integrates DDoS defense and web firewalls directly into HOSTVN's hosting infrastructure, enabling Vietnamese businesses to secure their websites without dedicated security teams. Blackwall plans further expansion to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
- cPanelcoreNative plugin integration for cPanel/WHM hosting control panels, enabling hosting providers to offer Blackwall security services directly through the cPanel interface.
- PleskcoreNative plugin integration for Plesk hosting control panel, allowing seamless deployment of Blackwall's bot management and security features.
- DirectAdmincoreNative plugin integration for DirectAdmin control panel, providing Blackwall security capabilities to DirectAdmin users.
- ISPmanagercoreNative plugin integration for ISPmanager hosting control panel.
- WHMCScoreNative integration with WHMCS billing and automation platform for hosting providers.
- AWS (Amazon)supportingCloud infrastructure provider for Blackwall cluster nodes (au-ap-southeast-2, br-sa-east-1, ca-central-1, de-fra-am1, it-mil-aws1, us-west-2). One-click deployment available on AWS.
- DigitalOceansupportingCloud infrastructure provider for Blackwall cluster nodes (de-fra-do6, in-blr-do1, nl-ams-do1, sg-sgp-do1, us-sf-do1). One-click deployment available on DigitalOcean.
- VultrsupportingCloud infrastructure provider for Blackwall cluster nodes (es-mad-vu1, jp-osa-vu1, jp-tyo-vu1, nl-ams-vu1, uk-lon-vu1, us-sv-vu1). One-click deployment available on Vultr.
- HetznersupportingCloud infrastructure provider for Blackwall cluster nodes in Germany (de-fsn-h1, de-nbg-h1, fi-hel-he2).
- OVHsupportingCloud infrastructure provider for Blackwall cluster nodes in France (fr-gra-ovh1) and Poland (pl-waw-o2).
- Let's EncryptsupportingAutomated SSL certificate provisioning and renewal through ACME protocol integration.
- Hudson RocksupportingRoi Carthy, Co-Founder & CEO at Hudson Rock, joined Blackwall's Board as Executive Chairman following the Series B funding round.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights7 records
BlackWall competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Fastly: Edge cloud platform with Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) and DDoS protection. Overlaps with Blackwall's WAF and edge security capabilities, particularly for developer and digital-native customers.
- Cloudflare: Global edge platform offering Bot Management, WAF, and DDoS protection as part of a broader CDN and security suite. Most significant competitive threat to Blackwall's product set, with deep enterprise penetration and bundled pricing.
- Akamai: Enterprise CDN and security provider with App & API Protector (WAF), Bot Manager, and DDoS mitigation. Competes with Blackwall in web application protection, particularly for large enterprise and high-traffic properties.
- F5 (Shape Security): Application security and delivery vendor with Shape Security for bot and fraud management, plus WAF and DDoS solutions. Competes with Blackwall in advanced bot mitigation for enterprise digital properties.
- AWS Shield / AWS WAF: Amazon's native DDoS protection and WAF services tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem. Already a named partner of Blackwall, but also a competitive alternative for AWS-hosted customers evaluating bundled protection.
Direct peers
- Imperva: Cybersecurity vendor specializing in WAF, bot management, API security, and DDoS protection. Closely aligned product portfolio to Blackwall, targeting web application and API protection across enterprise and mid-market.
- DataDome: Bot management and online fraud detection platform focused on e-commerce and classifieds. Directly competes with Blackwall's bot mitigation capabilities, with comparable AI-driven detection technology.
- Kasada: Bot management vendor using behavioral analysis and cryptography-based challenges to stop automated attacks. Closest direct competitor to Blackwall in AI-driven bot detection methodology.
- HUMAN Security: Bot mitigation and fraud detection company (formed via PerimeterX and White Ops merger). Competes with Blackwall across application-layer bot management and account abuse prevention.
- Reblaze: Cloud-native web application security platform offering WAF, bot management, and DDoS protection. Closely comparable product offering to Blackwall's GateKeeper, particularly for hosting providers and SaaS platforms.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
BlackWall social profiles
Digital presenceBlackWall compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
BlackWall financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BlackWall leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
BlackWall funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BlackWall M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about BlackWall
What does BlackWall do?
Blackwall sells GateKeeper, an advanced reverse-proxy web security and traffic-filtering platform that protects websites and applications from malicious bots, L7 DDoS attacks, brute-force attempts, and automated scraping in real time. The platform combines AI-driven bot detection, a Web Application Firewall, intelligent L7 load balancing, HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3 support, automated SSL management, and content caching, and is delivered primarily as a subscription service to Hosting Service Providers, Managed Service Providers, and cloud platforms who resell or embed it for their SMB end-customers. A cloud-based Website Protection service and an on-premises deployment option are also offered, alongside a REST API for partner automation.
Is BlackWall a public or private company?
BlackWall is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was BlackWall founded?
BlackWall was founded in 2019. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is BlackWall based?
BlackWall is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, in the Europe region.
How does BlackWall make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription-based Security Services.
Who are BlackWall's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Fastly, Cloudflare, Akamai, F5 (Shape Security) and AWS Shield / AWS WAF. Direct peers are Imperva, DataDome, Kasada, HUMAN Security and Reblaze.
Does BlackWall have an API?
Yes. Comprehensive REST API for full automation, monitoring, and custom rule configuration. The API is used by partners to manage websites on their accounts, typically in hosting panel integration modules. Documentation available at SwaggerHub (app.swaggerhub.com/apis/BotGuard_OU/LoadBalancer). Developer documentation is at app.swaggerhub.com/apis/BotGuard_OU/LoadBalancer.
What industry is BlackWall in?
BlackWall's product category is Bot Mitigation and Web Application Security. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAGAH, Edge Security Delivery (DDoS, WAF, Bot Mitigation at Edge), with a secondary code of HDABAHAJ, Cloud Network Security (Microsegmentation, Cloud Firewall, WAF, DDoS). Its NAICS code is 561621 and its SIC code is 7370.