Israeli cyber startup Torq raises $140 million at $1.2 billion valuation

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Israeli cyber startup Torq said on Sunday ​it raised $140 million at a $1.2 ‌billion valuation, as it looks to speed ‌up adoption of its artificial intelligence-driven security operations center (SOC) platform and expand into the U.S. market.

Torq, ⁠which uses ‌AI to provide security protection for companies, has now ‍raised a total of $332 million since its inception in 2020.

"This funding accelerates our ​mission to define and dominate ‌the AI SOC market," said Ofer Smadari, CEO and co-founder, Torq.

The company said its customer base includes multinationals including Marriott, PepsiCo, Procter & ⁠Gamble, Siemens, Uber ​and Virgin Atlantic.

The ​latest funding round was led by Merlin Ventures, with participation ‍from all ⁠existing investors, such as Evolution Equity Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, ⁠Notable Capital, and Greenfield Partners.

(Reporting by ‌Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru, Editing ‌by Louise Heavens)