Proofpoint, Inc. is an American enterprise cybersecurity company based in Sunnyvale, California that provides software as a service and products for email security, identity threat defense, data loss prevention, electronic discovery, and email archiving.
In 2021, Proofpoint was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion.[3]
History
The company was founded in July 2002 by Eric Hahn, formerly the CTO of Netscape Communications. It launched July 21, 2003, after raising a $7 million Series A funding round, an additional $9 million in Series B funding led by New York-based RRE Ventures was announced in October, 2003.[4]
The company released the Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) for medium and large businesses.
Proofpoint became a publicly traded company in April 2012. At the time of its initial public offering (IPO), the company’s shares traded at $13 apiece; investors purchased more than 6.3 million shares through the IPO, raising more than $80 million.[5]
On April 26, 2021, Proofpoint announced that it had agreed to be acquired by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo.[6]
In May 2025, Proofpoint announced its acquisition of Hornetsecurity, including its French subsidiary Vale, forming what the company described as the world’s leading email-security group.[7]
References
- ^ “Office Locations”. Proofpoint. August 30, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f “Proofpoint, Inc. 2020 Annual Report” (PDF). Proofpoint.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ “Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of Proofpoint” (Press release). GlobeNewswire. August 31, 2021.
- ^ Proofpoint adds funding, San Jose Business Journal, Oct 14, 2003.
- ^ “Proofpoint and Infoblox Rise on Debuts”. The New York Times. April 20, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
- ^ “Proofpoint Agreed To Be Acquired By Thoma Bravo”. April 26, 2021.
- ^ “Proofpoint acquires Hornetsecurity, which had acquired Vade, in conflict with Proofpoint”. Solutions Numériques (in French). May 15, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.