Israeli cybersecurity company Cato Networks has raised $359 million in a Series G round that values the Tel Aviv-based firm at more than $4.8 billion. The financing was co-led by Vitruvian Partners and ION Crossover Partners, with participation from longstanding investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Acrew Capital and Adams Street Partners. The latest injection lifts Cato’s total capital raised to over $1 billion. Founded in 2015 by Shlomo Kramer and Gur Shatz, Cato combines networking and security in a cloud-based secure access service edge platform used by more than 3,500 organisations. Management said the new funds will be directed toward expanding the company’s artificial-intelligence security capabilities, increasing research and development spending and adding sales capacity in new geographies. Investors are flocking to providers of AI-enabled cyber defences as attacks grow in volume and sophistication; Gartner expects the SASE market to reach about $25 billion by 2027. People familiar with Cato’s plans have previously indicated the company could pursue an initial public offering as early as 2025, though no timetable was disclosed with Monday’s announcement.