U.S.-Israeli cyber firm Armis Security has been valued at an increased $4.3 billion having raised $200 million in a private funding round, two people familiar with the deal said on Monday.

Venture capital fund General Catalyst and Alkeon Capital Management led the financing round.

Armis, which last raised $300 million at a valuation of $3.4 billion in November 2021, has also begun to prepare for an initial public offering in New York in the medium term, the sources said.

Proceeds of the new round are expected to be used for the company’s expansion and for more acquisitions after buying Silk Security and CTCI earlier this year, they said.

The company, founded in 2016 and which Insight Partners bought a large stake in 2020, helps companies protect critical assets. It says it is a cyber risk exposure and security company that protects manufacturing sites, large airports, retail stores and gas pipelines and distribution centres.

In August it said it surpassed $200 million in revenue, doubling its annual recurring revenue in 18 months, and is targeting $500 million by 2026.

Like many of its peers, Armis is based in the United States with its research and development in Israel.

The sources said that despite Israel’s military conflicts against Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, it was not a problem raising funds since “cybersecurity is a super hot area” and Armis was growing rapidly.

Another Israeli cyber firm Wiz earlier this year raised $1 billion in a funding round and in July rebuffed a $23 billion takeover offer from Google.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by David Evans)