◆ The verdict · graded on go-to-market
Lacework is graded B — GTM Exposure Index 68 — in the CNAPP division of the Markets InSecurity Kumite, Heavyweight class.
L
01Tale of the Tapelive metrics
Funding
$1.9B
Peak val
$8.3B
Capital
Acquired → Fortinet
Belt
Black · 3
02GTM Exposurethe portrait · 7 dims
Seven-dimension portrait generated from the GTM Exposure Index — including AI Citation density across LLM search engines.
◆ AI CITATION · 7th dimensionrefreshed 2026-05-27
Cross-engine score40/100
Engines testedPerplexity · OpenAI · Grok · Gemini
Citation count1 across 1 queries
Share of category25%
03Scouting Reportpartial · operator read
The cautionary tale, and the single best argument in cyber for grading motion over funding. Lacework raised $1.9B at an $8.3B valuation, then sold to Fortinet for a reported sliver of that. Same category as Wiz, opposite ending — and the gap was go-to-market discipline, not technology. Capital raised is not a GTM moat.
◆ Through the Venture in Security lens · our read ⓘ
Same category as Wiz, opposite ending — $1.9B raised at $8.3B, sold for a sliver. ViS's single best evidence that the raise doesn't build the moat.
🔒Alliance & M&A dimensionsRoS PRO
PARTNERS Announced partnerships — alliance / OEM / channel / integration
OVERLAP Partnership-ecosystem overlap vs. rivals
M&A Acquisition-likelihood — partnership orbits + corporate-VC backing
CAPITAL Lead-investor tiers — clean VC / PE / founder read
◆GTM Exposure Index — by dimensionillustrative · /100
| Dimension | Code | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | POS | 70 |
| Demand | DEM | 68 |
| Category | CAT | 72 |
| Durability | DUR | 75 |
| Channel | CHN | 65 |
| Resilience | RES | 62 |
| AI Citation | CITE | 40 |
| Composite exposure | EXP | 68 |