Chainguard

Chainguard emerged in 2021 as a transformative force in software supply chain security, founded by a team of open-source security luminaries who previously shaped cloud-native security at Google. Dan Lorenc, Kim Lewandowski, Matt Moore, and Ville Aikas came together with a shared vision: build the trusted source for open source software. Their timing proved prescient as software supply chain attacks surged, with 91% of surveyed organizations experiencing attacks by 2024 and projections showing 45% of global organizations will face attacks in 2025.

The founding team's credentials were impeccable. Dan Lorenc spent nine years at Google working on securing the company's code and infrastructure. Matt Moore collaborated with Lorenc at Google on container software and created the original 'distroless' container image. Ville Aikas co-founded Kubernetes and served on the Technical Oversight Committee for Knative. Kim Lewandowski represented Google on the Governing Board of the Open Source Security Foundation. When Moore texted Lorenc in summer 2021 proposing they start a company focused on software supply chain security, Lorenc immediately gave notice at Google and began building Chainguard.

The company's growth has been meteoric. From founding to unicorn status in under three years, Chainguard achieved a $1.12 billion valuation in July 2024, tripled to $3.5 billion by April 2025, and secured over $892 million in total funding by October 2025. Revenue growth matched this trajectory: from approximately $5 million ARR in 2023 to $40 million in January 2025, representing 640% year-over-year growth. The company projects exceeding $100 million ARR before the end of 2026.

Chainguard's core innovation is its vertically integrated approach to software supply chain security. Unlike traditional security vendors that scan for vulnerabilities, Chainguard rebuilds open source software from source daily, starting with zero known vulnerabilities. The company's catalog expanded to over 1,000 container images and virtual machines in 2024, serving more than 150 paying customers including ANZ Bank, Canva, GitLab, HPE, Snap, Wiz, and Anduril. With 350+ employees and recognition including Forbes Cloud 100 and Fortune Best Workplaces in Technology, Chainguard is positioned to define the future of trusted open source software.