Huntress acquires cybersecurity training firm Curricula for $22 million

Maryland-based cybersecurity firm Huntress announced on Tuesday the $22 million acquisition of security training platform Curricula to further expand services to small and mid-market businesses.  

Founded in 2015, Curricula’s software focuses on security training through cyberattack simulations, using animated characters and gamified phishing scenarios. Curricula raised $3 million in funding in January 2020 and has worked with organizations such as Boys & Girls Club of America, American Automobile Association, and Webflow, among others.  

Huntress — also founded in 2015 — provides managed detection and response services and raised $40 million in a Series B investment round in 2021.

Both firms share a focus on preventing cyberattacks targeting small businesses – 60 percent of which fold within six months after a security breach, according to research firm Cybersecurity Ventures.

“Our team had already seen Curricula’s results internally, so it seemed criminal to not bring it to our partner ecosystem. Together, we're combining Curricula's creativity with Huntress' offensive expertise to address the demand for memorable and actionable threat training,” Huntress CEO and co-founder Kyle Hanslovan said in a press release.

The acquisition coincides with a spike in cyber threats targeting small businesses, which have increased 150 percent in the past two years, according to cyber protection firm Coro. Findings from Barracuda have also shown that an employee of businesses with fewer than 100 people on staff will encounter 350 percent more social engineering attacks than those of a larger company.