Overall Winner: Orca Security·68/ 100

Orca Security vs Unit21

In-depth comparison — valuation, funding, investors, founders & more

Winner
O
Orca Security

🇺🇸 United States · Avi Shua

Series EAI SecurityEst. 2019

Valuation

$1.8B

Total Funding

$640M

68
Awaira Score68/100

450 employees

Full Orca Security Profile →
U
Unit21

🇺🇸 United States · Trisha Kothari

Series CAI SecurityEst. 2018

Valuation

N/A

Total Funding

$75M

60
Awaira Score60/100

100-500 employees

Full Unit21 Profile →
🔬

Analyst Summary

Generated from real data · No AI hallucinations

Both Orca Security and Unit21 compete directly in the AI Security space, making this a head-to-head matchup within the same market segment. Orca Security is a cloud security platform founded in 2019 that specializes in AI-driven vulnerability and misconfiguration detection across cloud environments. Unit21 provides a fraud and risk operations platform that enables compliance and fraud teams at financial institutions and fintechs to build, test, and deploy transaction monitoring rules and machine learning models without requiring data science resources.

Orca Security carries a known valuation of $1.8B, while Unit21's valuation has not been publicly disclosed. On the funding side, Orca Security has raised $640M in total — $565M more than Unit21's $75M.

Unit21 has 1 year more market experience, having been founded in 2018 compared to Orca Security's 2019 founding. In terms of growth stage, Orca Security is at Series E while Unit21 is at Series C — a meaningful difference for investors evaluating risk and upside.

Both companies are headquartered in 🇺🇸 United States, competing for the same regional talent and customer base. On Awaira's 0–100 composite score, Orca Security leads with a score of 68, reflecting stronger overall fundamentals across valuation, funding, and growth signals.

Metrics Comparison

MetricOrca SecurityUnit21
💰Valuation
$1.8B
N/A
📈Total Funding
$640MWINS
$75M
📅Founded
2019WINS
2018
🚀Stage
Series E
Series C
👥Employees
450
100-500
🌍Country
United States
United States
🏷️Category
AI Security
AI Security
Awaira Score
68WINS
60

Key Differences

📈

Funding gap: Orca Security has raised $565M more ($640M vs $75M)

📅

Market experience: Unit21 has 1 year more (founded 2018 vs 2019)

🚀

Growth stage: Orca Security is at Series E vs Unit21 at Series C

👥

Team size: Orca Security has 450 employees vs Unit21's 100-500

⚔️

Direct competitors: Both operate in the AI Security market segment

Awaira Score: Orca Security scores 68/100 vs Unit21's 60/100

Which Should You Choose?

Use these signals to make the right call

O

Choose Orca Security if…

Top Pick
  • Higher Awaira Score — 68/100 vs 60/100
  • More established by valuation ($1.8B)
  • Stronger investor backing — raised $640M
  • Orca Security is a cloud security platform founded in 2019 that specializes in AI-driven vulnerability and misconfiguration detection across cloud environments
U

Choose Unit21 if…

  • More market experience — founded in 2018
  • Unit21 provides a fraud and risk operations platform that enables compliance and fraud teams at financial institutions and fintechs to build, test, and deploy transaction monitoring rules and machine learning models without requiring data science resources

Funding History

Orca Security raised $640M across 5 rounds. Unit21 raised $75M across 0 rounds.

Orca Security

Series E

Jan 2023

$315M

Series D

Jan 2022

Lead: Lightspeed Venture Partners

$200M

Series B

Jan 2021

Lead: Sequoia Capital

$40M

Series C

Jan 2021

Lead: Lightspeed Venture Partners

$65M

Series A

Jan 2020

Lead: Sequoia Capital

$20M

Unit21

No public funding data available.

Investor Comparison

No shared investors detected between these two companies.

Unique to Orca Security

Lightspeed Venture PartnersSequoia Capital

Users Also Compare

FAQ — Orca Security vs Unit21

Is Orca Security bigger than Unit21?
Orca Security has a disclosed valuation of $1.8B, while Unit21's valuation is not publicly available, making a direct size comparison difficult. Orca Security employs 450 people.
Which company raised more funding — Orca Security or Unit21?
Orca Security has raised more in total funding at $640M, compared to Unit21's $75M — a gap of $565M. Combined, the two companies have completed 5 known funding rounds.
Which company has a higher Awaira Score?
Orca Security holds the higher Awaira Score at 68/100, compared to Unit21's 60/100. The Awaira Score is a composite metric factoring in valuation, funding, stage, team size, and market presence — a 8-point gap that reflects meaningful differences in scale or traction.
Who founded Orca Security vs Unit21?
Orca Security was founded by Avi Shua in 2019. Unit21 was founded by Trisha Kothari in 2018. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.
What does Orca Security do vs Unit21?
Orca Security: Orca Security is a cloud security platform founded in 2019 that specializes in AI-driven vulnerability and misconfiguration detection across cloud environments. The company provides agentless security solutions that scan infrastructure, workloads, and data across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes deployments without requiring agent installation. Orca's core technology uses machine learning algorithms to identify risks including unpatched vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed data, and compliance violations. The platform integrates with existing security tools and provides automated remediation recommendations. The company has secured $640 million in total funding at a $1.8 billion valuation as of its Series E funding round, reflecting significant investor confidence in cloud security solutions. Orca competes with vendors including Wiz, Lacework, and Snyk in the cloud security space. The company targets enterprise organizations managing complex multi-cloud infrastructures seeking consolidated visibility and risk assessment. Orca's agentless approach differentiates it by reducing deployment friction compared to agent-based competitors. The company has achieved notable enterprise adoption across financial services, technology, and healthcare sectors. Its growth trajectory reflects broader market demand for AI-enhanced cloud security tools as organizations accelerate cloud migration and face increasing sophistication in attack vectors targeting cloud infrastructure and data exposure risks. Orca Security's agentless scanning approach eliminates deployment friction while delivering AI-powered risk detection across multiple cloud platforms simultaneously. Unit21: Unit21 provides a fraud and risk operations platform that enables compliance and fraud teams at financial institutions and fintechs to build, test, and deploy transaction monitoring rules and machine learning models without requiring data science resources. The platform covers transaction fraud, account takeover, ACH and check fraud, and anti-money laundering (AML) case management in a unified workflow.\n\nThe company raised approximately 75 million USD and serves hundreds of financial services customers including neobanks, payment processors, crypto exchanges, and traditional banks looking to modernize legacy fraud operations with configurable, model-driven risk infrastructure. Unit21 no-code rule builder allows risk analysts to respond to new fraud patterns within hours rather than weeks.\n\nFinancial fraud losses in the United States exceed 10 billion USD annually and are growing as faster payment rails reduce the window for detection. Unit21 competes with legacy vendors like NICE Actimize and SAS as well as newer entrants including Sardine and Alloy, differentiating through its analyst-friendly interface and the speed with which risk teams can iterate on detection logic without engineering dependencies.
Which company was founded first?
Unit21 was founded first in 2018, giving it 1 year of additional market experience. Orca Security was founded later in 2019. In AI, even a year or two of head start can translate into significantly more training data, customer relationships, and institutional knowledge.
Which company has more employees?
Orca Security has approximately 450 employees, while Unit21 has approximately 100-500. A larger team often signals higher revenue or venture backing, but in AI, smaller teams are increasingly capable of building at scale.
Are Orca Security and Unit21 competitors?
Yes, Orca Security and Unit21 are direct competitors — both operate in the AI Security space and likely target overlapping customer segments. This comparison is especially relevant for buyers evaluating both platforms.