Is KnowBe4 a subsidiary of another company?

KnowBe4 is the product brand of KnowBe4, Inc., which is wholly owned by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners since February 2023.

When was KnowBe4 founded?

Stu Sjouwerman founded KnowBe4 in 2010 in Clearwater, Florida. He served as CEO until May 2025, when he became executive chairman.

Vista Equity Partners owns KnowBe4, Inc. Founder Stu Sjouwerman remains executive chairman, and Bryan Palma has been CEO since May 2025.

What is KnowBe4's market position?

KnowBe4 is the market leader in security awareness training and human risk management, serving more than 70,000 organizations. It is larger than all direct competitors combined by revenue.

Technology & Software

Who Owns KnowBe4?

Q: Is KnowBe4 publicly traded?

No. KnowBe4 was delisted from the NASDAQ in February 2023 when Vista Equity Partners acquired it for approximately $4.6 billion at $24.90 per share.

KnowBe4 is the product brand of KnowBe4, Inc., a cybersecurity company owned by Vista Equity Partners since February 2023. Founded in 2010 by Stu Sjouwerman and headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, the platform serves more than 70,000 organizations with security awareness training, email security, and human risk management software. The company was publicly traded on the NASDAQ until its $4.6 billion take-private.

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Parent Company

KnowBe4, Inc.

Founded

2010

Status

Private

Headquarters

Clearwater, Florida, USA

GlobalOfficial Website

Who Owns KnowBe4?

Parent Company: KnowBe4, Inc.
Ownership Type: Wholly owned
Company Type: Privately Held

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
KnowBe4	KnowBe4, Inc.	Wholly owned

History of KnowBe4

Founded: 2010
Founders: Stu Sjouwerman

Stu Sjouwerman launched KnowBe4 in 2010 from Clearwater, Florida, after a career in IT security entrepreneurship. The founding insight was that antivirus and firewalls protected machines, but the human clicking the phishing link was the unguarded attack surface.

The original product was simple: simulated phishing emails sent by a company to its own staff. IT teams watched who clicked and assigned training. The approach was cheap, demonstrable, and easy to sell, which produced years of rapid growth through the mid 2010s with minimal outside capital.

A $300 million funding round in 2019 valued the company at $1 billion, and the April 2021 NASDAQ IPO priced near $4 billion. The public tenure lasted less than two years: Vista Equity Partners announced the $4.6 billion take-private in late 2022 and closed in February 2023.

Under Vista the brand expanded from training into human risk management. The 2024 acquisition of UK email security firm Egress added inbound and outbound email protection, and the platform now covers security awareness, email security, real time coaching, and AI agent protection.

About KnowBe4, Inc.

What does KnowBe4 do?

KnowBe4 sells security awareness training and human risk management software. Its platform simulates phishing attacks, trains employees, measures organizational human risk, and now includes email security and AI agent protection products.

Is KnowBe4 publicly traded?

No. KnowBe4 traded on the NASDAQ under ticker KNBE from April 2021 until February 2023, when Vista Equity Partners acquired it for approximately $4.6 billion and took it private.