JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli cyber startup Torq said on Tuesday it raised $70 million in its second private funding round this year and targeted $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2026.

Torq, which uses artificial intelligence to provide security protection for companies, has now raised $112 million in 2024 and $192 million since its inception in 2020.

Torq said it planned to use the new funds to expand further across the EMEA and APAC regions, hire more engineers and other employees, and devote more resources to generative AI enhancements for its security operations platform.

It said it more than tripled its revenue for a second straight year, although it did not specify to how much.

Torq said its customer base includes multinationals including Telefonica and ZoomInfo as well as Fortune 100 consumer packaged goods, fashion, financial, hospitality, and sports apparel companies.

The latest funding round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Notable Capital, Greenfield Partners and Strait Capital.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Susan Fenton)