Snyk, a prominent cybersecurity startup, is nearing a deal to raise money from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund at a valuation of roughly $7 billion—a slightly lower price than the firm’s previous round of funding—according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal would make Boston-based Snyk one of the few high-valued startups this year to raise a so-called “down round”—a financial fate other firms have been hoping to avoid by raising debt and securing other more unique forms of private funding. But Snyk’s valuation drop, down about 15% from $8.5 billion last fall, isn’t nearly as steep as its publicly traded cybersecurity peers.
