Battery Ventures invests in DomainTools

DomainTools takes first significant investment following nearly 20 years in business.

Cybersecurity firm DomainTools has landed an undisclosed investment from venture capital firm Battery Ventures.

Many domain name industry professionals use DomainTools to access current and historical Whois information regarding domain names, but the platform’s main purpose is to help firms and government entities identify cyber threats.

The firm states it has over 500 enterprise clients, counting 45 of the Fortune 100, 8 of the top 10 banks, and all branches of the military.

DomainTools has a long history in the domain name business. Co-founded by Jay Westerdal nearly two decades ago, it sold to Thought Convergence in 2008. Westerdal and Thought Convergence parted ways following a payment dispute.

The firm took some outside investment in 2010, although this might have been an buyout of part of Thought Convergence’s ownership. (GeekWire gave it the “Bootstrapper of the Year” award in 2017, and it is generally considered a bootstrapped venture.)

Three people connected to Battery Ventures will take board seats as part of the investment.