Andreessen has invested $90 million into cybersecurity firm, Tanium

Andreessen Horowitz is betting big on Tanium, a company that lets IT professionals manage hundreds of thousands of devices in real-time. The venture capital firm is investing $90 million in Tanium, co-founder and general partner Marc Andreessen announced on Twitter. The investment values the company at $900 million, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. You’ve likely never heard of Tanium, but its technology sounds like an IT manager’s dream. Founded by David Hindawi and his son Orion, Tanium gives IT folks unprecedented awareness of all the devices connected to their network, which is helpful for both security and general management.

Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is placing its second-biggest bet ever on an unheralded tool for corporate-technology departments. The firm, known for backing Facebook Inc. and Pinterest Inc., among others, is investing $90 million in Tanium Inc., which helps companies pinpoint security threats and manage their sprawling computer networks. Andreessen Horowitz’s investment values seven-year-old Tanium at $900 million, according to people familiar with the transaction. Orion Hindawi, who founded Tanium with his father, said the company’s technology offers a near-instant snapshot of potentially malicious software in corporate-computing networks, then lets employees wipe out the unwanted software remotely. Mr. Hindawi said many anti-hacker tools, by contrast, give companies information that is hours or days old, and can be ineffective if companies don’t know where to erect security barriers.