Chainguard raises $280 M from General Catalyst to super-charge software-supply-chain security

Software-supply-chain risk is now a board-level line item, and buyers want proof that $1 of security spend produces >$1 in risk reduction and uptime. Chainguard’s $280 million financing—structured to be non-dilutive—shows how late-stage startups are funding go-to-market without sacrificing cap tables, while demand for trusted open source accelerates with AI adoption.

Chainguard secured $280 million from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF). The facility specifically bankrolls sales and marketing and can be drawn down quarterly; repayment is tied to revenue generated by customers acquired with the funds and flexes with company margins. Chainguard will expand GTM teams in the U.S., Europe and Asia, building on a headcount of 100+ in sales and marketing. The company is guiding to > $100 million ARR in 2025, and highlights customers such as Snowflake and Snap. The raise comes months after a $356 million Series D that valued Chainguard at $3.5 billion.

Enterprises are shipping AI-inflected apps faster, compressing the time from an open-source project’s first release to production. That widens the attack surface—and the budget for SBOMs, provenance, and hardened builds. Non-dilutive instruments like CVF treat customer acquisition as an asset: founders keep equity; growth spending gets financed against measurable payback. For investors, revenue-linked structures add downside protection while preserving upside if sales efficiency holds.

Security is selling, but capital is getting smarter. By pairing a $280M revenue-linked facility with a $3.5B equity valuation from April’s $356M round, Chainguard is optimizing for sales velocity and cash efficiency without equity burn. If churn stays low and GTM efficiency remains >1x payback, expect more late-stage infra startups to copy this CVF-style stack—front-loading growth while founders keep their cap table intact.