Distil Networks, the startup founded by NCSU alumni that battles malicious “bot” networks, has big plans for expansion with more workers coming to Raleigh after securing $10 million in new financing.

It’s new backers are high profile, too, (Foundry Group and Techstars), adding to the credibility and validation the funding brings to Distil.

“This is a very exciting milestone for Distil that will help fuel our expansion and aid us in the fight against bots!,” says a very happy Rami Essaid, one of the co-founders and the startup’s CEO.

Distil recently announced plans to expand to Raleigh from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. And the additional funding means five additional hires beyond the five already in the Capital City.

Distil also is expanding its office footprint with a new office in San Francisco. Some 22 people are working in D.C. and “up to 15” will be hired on the West Coast.

But the primary use of the funding will be to fight the unrelenting battle against bots.

“Fighting bots is an arms race and so we will be using the money to do more of the same, provide the world class bot detection and mitigation that our customers have come to expect,” Essaid says.

The new funding led to a discussion with Essaid about what’s going on in the bots battle and how Distil sets itself apart.

With all the headlines about cyberspying and hacking, how does Distil fit into this threatening landscape? Are bots a part of the problem and is Distil part of the solution, The Skinny asks.

“Yes and yes,” he replies.

“Bots are a much bigger problem than people recognize. That is why we published our Bot Landscape Report earlier this year, to shed light on the problem. Distil’s mission statement is to make the web more secure, and we believe that starts with detecting and mitigating the bot threat.”

Customers – including “over a dozen Fortune 500 clients” according to the CEO – are flocking to Distil’s solution.

That fact plus the ability to secure high-profile investors led to this question:

Why is Distil so hot?

“Our approach to security is unique, no longer reacting to security threats and instead providing proactive protection,” Essaid explains. “We are doing something new, solving a problem no one else has tackled properly, and have won’t he confidence of dozens of large enterprises.”

Durham-based IDEA Fund Partners is a big backer of Distil, by the way.