Darktrace Regulatory News (DARK)

7th November 2023

Darktrace plc

Technology Day 2023

Darktrace showcases its self-learning AI cyber security product portfolio at its inaugural Technology Day in London

Following the recent launch of its cloud native security solution Darktrace/Cloud?, Darktrace plc (DARK.L) (together with its subsidiaries, "Darktrace") a global leader in cyber security AI, held its inaugural Technology Day in London on 6 November 2023. Darktrace showcased its self-learning AI cyber security product portfolio which takes a platform approach to cyber resilience by applying its self-learning AI engine across critical IT domains including Cloud, Email, Apps, Endpoint, Zero Trust, Network, Apps (SaaS) and Operational Technology (OT) for customers across a wide range of industries.

The event was attended by Darktrace's investment banking coverage analysts and a wide variety of institutional investors from the UK, Europe, and the United States, and the day included presentations from members of the Executive Team.

Poppy Gustafsson, Chief Executive Officer, opened the event and, having recently participated in the UK's AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, described how the growing acceptance and adoption of AI along with its attendant challenges represented a unique opportunity for Darktrace.

Jack Stockdale, Chief Technology Officer and Max Heinemeyer, Chief Product Officer discussed the evolution of cyber, and how Darktrace's self-learning AI differentiates its portfolio of cyber security products from other commercially available tools:

· Unsupervised machine learning and self-learning AI: Darktrace utilises a range of sophisticated AI approaches, including generative AI, and applying these to its customers' data;

· Personalised AI driven security: Darktrace's self-learning AI trains on its customers' data to understand a pattern of life which allows Darktrace's AI to understand typical behaviour in a digital environment, and what activities are anomalous;

· Pro-active threat monitoring: Darktrace's self-learning AI proactively monitors customers' digital environments in advance of a problem arising and is capable of autonomously containing threats;

· Platform approach applicable across all industries: Darktrace's products are applicable to customers around the world, regardless of industry and across multiple use cases and coverage areas, including Cloud, Email, Endpoint, Zero Trust, Network, Apps (SaaS) and OT; and

· Darktrace/Cloud: recent enhancements to Darktrace's Cloud offering provide a cloud-native solution built off Darktrace's scalable core capabilities, learning innately from actions occurring across the cloud to provide protection to customers.

Mike Beck, Chief Information Security Officer and Hanah Darley, Director of Threat Research discussed the cyber threat landscape as an ever-evolving challenge and the role that Darktrace's self-learning AI can play as a partner to human security teams:

· Persistent challenge with new facets: including the interconnectivity of technology, the speed of innovation, malware democratisation and development and the increasing sophistication of phishing attacks;

· Asymmetric threats: driven in part by living off the land attacks, persistent attack techniques, vulnerability management and novel threat development; and

· Partnering with AI in a security function: the expanding role and responsibilities of internal security functions given significantly increased data flows, and how Darktrace's self-learning AI can partner with human security teams to manage complexity.

Cathy Graham, Chief Financial Officer provided historic performance data that could be useful in thinking about future financial expectations for Darktrace, and reviewed various levers that impact revenue and ARR, showing how relatively small improvements in each can sustain long-term growth which included:

· Annual Constant Currency Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO):

o relationship between ARR and RPO - over the past five years, typically 20-25% of point-in-time ARR was up for renewal in the subsequent 12 months, conversely, typically 75-80% of the same ARR was also in RPO;

o approximating contract bookings - by summing change in RPO over a period and revenue recognised in that period;

· Net Constant Currency ARR Added:

o growing importance of existing customers - amounts added from existing customers increased from approximately 3% in FY 2019 to approximately 16% in FY 2023;

o approximating additions from new vs existing customers - achievable by using churn and net retention metrics; and

· Levers to Drive and Sustain Growth: small improvements in gross churn, net retention, new customer values, and net upsell values could significantly increase net constant currency ARR added over time.

Further, with the first month of the second quarter completed, Ms. Graham reiterated the FY 2024 full year guidance provided in the Q1 FY 2024 Trading Update released on 12 October 2023, and expressed Management's continuing belief that Darktrace's long-term steady state business model represents an achievable scenario.

Denise Walter, Chief Revenue Officer discussed the goals of, and progress being made from, the recent changes in Darktrace's Go-to-Market strategy and activities, across various areas:

· People: shifting towards hiring more experienced personnel, restructuring the Go-to-Market teams and emphasising training and career development;

· Processes: further segmenting teams and allocating accounts, focusing on larger prospect opportunities, and driving deeper engagement with the partner channel; and

· Systems: implementing various industry-leading tools including CRM tool Salesforce, with additional sales, marketing, and customer success tools to follow as required.

A customer panel discussion was also then held followed by a question-and-answer session with attendees.

Technology Day Presentation Materials

The Darktrace Technology Day presentation materials and a video of the Technology Day will also be made available on the Darktrace IR site in the coming days.

Investor Relations

Luk Janssens (Head of Investor Relations) and Mike Beck (Chief Information Security Officer) will be visiting investors in New York, Boston, and San Francisco from 7 to 10 November 2023 to share the messages from the Darktrace Technology Day and would be pleased to meet with existing and prospective institutional investors.

There are also many opportunities to meet with the broader Darktrace management team at industry conferences and events, a live list can be found here on the 'Investor Relations Calendar' tab: https://ir.darktrace.com/financial-calendar.

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK.L), a global leader in cyber security artificial intelligence, is on a mission to free the world of cyber disruption. Breakthrough innovations in our Cyber AI Research Centre in Cambridge, UK have resulted in over 160 patents filed and research published to contribute to the cyber security community. Rather than study attacks, Darktrace's technology continuously learns and updates its knowledge of your business data and applies that understanding to optimise your state of optimal cyber security. Darktrace's cyber AI technology provides a full lifecycle approach to cyber resilience across the entire organisation that can autonomously spot and respond to novel in progress threats within seconds. Darktrace employs over 2,200 people around the world and protects approximately 8,900 customers globally from advanced cyber threats. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' in 2021. To learn more, visit http://www.darktrace.com.

Cautionary Statement

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements, including with respect to Darktrace's current targets, expectations and projections about future performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements, which sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and words of similar meaning, include all matters that are not historical facts and reflect the directors' beliefs and expectations, made in good faith and based on the information available to them at the time of the announcement. Such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from any expected future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement and should be treated with caution. Any forward-looking statements made in this announcement by or on behalf of Darktrace speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, Darktrace expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any changes in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Enquiries

Luk Janssens - Head of Investor Relations, Darktrace

Direct: +44 7811 027918

luk.janssens@darktrace.com