Insta-unicorn Island, with its browser built for the enterprise, has some interesting funding news: it just hit a $3 billion valuation in an era where it's AI or bust in the VC world. 

Island announced its latest raise of $175 million in a Series D round of funding, saying it brings the company's value to the aforementioned $3 billion. Island, which debuted in early 2022, hit a self-reported valuation of $1.3 billion within weeks of its launch and a Series B funding round. All said, Island has raised $487 million in outside investment. The latest round was led by investors at Coatue and Sequoia Capital. 

There's good reason why a product like Island's would be valuable in today's age of distributed work, BYOD and multiple devices. Being a centrally managed web browser, Island can offer a few in-demand features to enterprise environments, like not allowing data copied inside Island to be pasted outside of it, a zero trust design, thorough logging, granular permissions and the like. 

"We've been thrilled at how quickly customers have adopted Island at scale - from major hotel chains and leading banks to national retailers and smaller enterprises," said founder and CEO Mike Fey. "We're fortunate to have these dynamic companies as our design partners, and this new funding will enable us to invest more in R&D and customer success globally."

But such a high valuation for what amounts to a centrally managed web browser - and the fact that this round of funding is a Series D - is enough to raise some questions.

Series D funding rounds can be a sign that a company is running out of steam, or that it hasn't been able to meet its goals with previous rounds of funds. Those sorts of early troubles can spell doom for a young startup. Mike Fey, CEO and cofounder of Island, tells The Register that's not the case.

"Island is doing very well, hence our valuation doubling in less than a year," Fey said. "This funding round is about building our resources to enable global expansion and continued large investment in product."

Island told us that it has over 200 customers, including firms like Ashland Chemical, Mattress Firm, ED&F Man, Bank of Marion and others. A company spokesperson told us that any suggestion a Series D was indicative of trouble at Island "Isn't accurate … at all." 

This late in the funding game it's likely Island will either go public, an option we're told is being considered, or could seek a buyer. Either outcome would tell us a lot about the internal state of affairs at D-Series Island. Doug Leone, a partner at Sequoia, told Bloomberg in an interview: "We think this company could IPO and beyond." ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/04/30/enterprise_browser_maker_island_valuation/