Hampshire-based CybaVerse, a cyber security management platform, announced on Monday that it has secured over £1.1M (approximately €1.3M) in funding.

The funding round was backed by FSE Group, Haatch, Founder & Lightning, and several angel investors, including FSE angels and the University of Sussex Business Angels group.

The company will use the funds to accelerate team expansion and development of the platform.

Appointed three senior leaders

The announcement comes as the England company appointed three new senior leaders:

• Andreas Wuchner as Chairman (With over 26 years of cyber security experience, Andreas has held senior roles at global giants like Deutsche Bank, UBS, and HP. Andreas’s leadership will play a key role in helping CybaVerse achieve its goals and further grow the company.)
• Juliette Hudson as CTO (Juliette brings technical knowledge and experience to the role, with previous positions including SOC regional manager at Kroll, plus previous technical roles at Bupa and Symantec.)
• Nicola Hartland as Non-Executive Director and Brand Advisor (Nicola has worked in cyber and technology for over 20 years and she will use her vast experience to enhance relationships with clients and scale the company.)

“I’m delighted to be a part of the team. I have been completely drawn to Ollie’s ambitions and goals and the company’s innovation and creativity, which I believe will significantly benefit the security community at large. I believe CybaVerse is making strides in tackling this important issue and I am delighted I will be playing a part in helping them reach this goal with my skills, experience, and network,” says Andreas Wuchner.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Andreas, Nicola, and Juliette to our growing team. With their rich technical experience and deep expertise in operations and leadership, they will be invaluable assets to CybaVerse. As we continue to develop CybaVerse and our platform offerings, I believe they each have the necessary skills and experience to help us realise, and surpass, our ambitions,” says Oliver Spence, CEO of CybaVerse.

CybaVerse: Redefining the future of cyber security for SMEs

Founded in 2018, CybaVerse was started as a small consultancy focusing on security advice and has now become a Managed Security Service Provider with a 24/7 Security Operations Centre.

The company has recently launched CybaVerse AI — a platform designed to help clients manage their cyber security needs more effectively.

The platform provides a unified view across their entire cyber landscape, boosting efficiency, enhancing project management, and lightening the load on in-house IT and security teams.

Rome-based Cyber Guru, a cybersecurity awareness training platform, announced on Thursday that it has secured $25M (approximately €23M) in a Series B funding round led by Riverside Acceleration Capital.

Others, including Educapital and existing investors Adara Ventures and P101 Ventures, also participated in the round. 

The company will utilise the funds to enhance its aggressive AI-driven contextual training strategy, boost sales and marketing resources, and expand its Go-To-Market operations across Europe to support continued customer growth.

“Securing this investment from Riverside and Educapital, along with the continued support from Adara and P101, is a monumental step in our journey to scale internationally. Our mission is to improve an organisation’s resistance to cyberattacks, by transforming user behaviour. With our proprietary Machine Learning model and the use of advanced learning methodologies, we’ve built a comprehensive security awareness training platform that is effective in managing and reducing human risk, and now we are poised to take this vision worldwide,” says Gianni Baroni, CEO and founder of Cyber Guru.

Cyber Guru: Cybersecurity awareness training platform

Founded by Gianni Baroni in 2017, Cyber Guru is a cybersecurity awareness training platform, that enables organisations to increase their resistance to cyber-attacks by changing employee behaviour. 

The platform trains employees to become the first line of defence against cyber threats while minimising the impact on organisational productivity. 

The Italian company provides a security awareness training platform that uses a proprietary AI-powered adaptive machine learning model and behavioral science methodology.

As per the company’s claims, over 700 customers, including organisations of all sizes and verticals, in the public and private sector, rely on its platform to transform employee awareness of, and resilience to, sophisticated attacks – ultimately creating a human barrier against cyber-crime.

More than 1 million active users in over 90 countries are continuously trained using automated paths on the platform.

The investor

Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC) provides flexible growth capital and operating resources to help acceleration-stage software companies maximise their potential. 

Since its founding in 2016, the company, which is part of The Riverside Company, has supported over 75 B2B software companies. 

“We see tremendous value in Cyber Guru’s innovative approach to cybersecurity awareness, particularly their ability to deliver strong engagement rates through AI-driven automation and adaptive learning. We believe the company’s focus on behavioural science and its exclusive Machine Learning model sets it apart in the market. Our investment reflects our confidence in their ability to become a European leader in security awareness training while helping organisations achieve compliance and strengthen their human security posture. We’re excited to continue to support Cyber Guru as they scale their operations and accelerate Research & Development efforts,” says Christian Stein, Partner at Riverside Acceleration Capital.

Educapital is the European venture fund dedicated to Edtech and the Future of Work. With more than €200M under management, Educapital invests from Seed to Series B and has partnered with over 35 companies. 

“Speaking to clients, we were impressed by Cyber Guru’s effectiveness in mitigating human risk and how well it adapts to users’ training needs. We’re proud to support Gianni and his team in their international expansion,” says Jonathan Denais, Investment Director at Educapital.

Warsaw-based Authologic, a platform for digital identity verification, announced that it raised $8.2M (nearly €7.57M) in a Series A round of funding. The round was led by European venture capital firm OpenOcean, with participation from YCombinator, Peak Capital, and SMOK VC.

The Polish company specialises in streamlining KYC and AML processes using secure e-ID solutions to combat fraud and ensure compliance.

Tony Nysten, Partner at OpenOcean, says, “For decades, people in the Nordics have used bank e-IDs to sign contracts, purchase items, and even book dentist appointments online. With the Nordics having paved the way in digital identities, we believe Authologic is on the cusp of driving a revolution on a global scale.”

“The demand for secure, efficient and easy-to-use identity verification is universal, and Authologic’s approach is precisely what the market needs. Its vision of building a new, trust-based identity layer on the internet resonates deeply with us, and we are thrilled to support the team as they lead the charge in making this vision a reality. Authologic is reshaping online identity.”

Fixing identity on the internet

Authologic is addressing the growing vulnerabilities in legacy KYC (Know Your Customer) systems that rely on document images for identity verification, as advances in AI make it easier to create fake documents. 

These outdated methods are prone to fraud and compliance issues, particularly in industries with strict KYC and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations, such as financial services, gaming, telecoms, and crypto. 

The eIDAS 2.0 regulation now requires regulated companies to accept electronic IDs (eIDs) and implement them as valid authentication and two-factor authentication (2FA) methods.

Authologic’s platform simplifies the identity verification process, offering a secure digital experience that reduces manual work, speeds up onboarding, lowers fraud risk, and cuts operational costs, all while improving customer satisfaction in a digital-first world.

The company’s unified e-ID platform combines hundreds of electronic identity systems, helping businesses transition from legacy verification methods to secure digital solutions. 

The platform eliminates the need for outdated practices like plastic IDs and photo uploads, reducing the exposure of personal data while maintaining privacy and trust. By integrating with existing KYC infrastructures, Authologic simplifies the adoption of secure e-ID solutions. 

Krzysztof Klimczak, CEO and co-founder of Authologic, says, “Identity is the foundation of a well-functioning society. If we can’t be sure who we’re dealing with online, it undermines trust in marketplaces, social interactions, and even democracy itself. That’s why digital identities must be easy to use and the practice of taking photographs of plastic ID cards should be left in the past.”

“Our platform is designed to help firms counteract the increase in AI-driven fraud, offering them a seamless, secure, and automated solution that stays ahead of emerging fraud tactics. We are excited to have the support of our investors as we expand our reach and continue to innovate in the digital identity space.”

With offices in Warsaw, London, and San Francisco, Authologic is expanding internationally, serving major clients such as Santander Leasing, LV Bet, and eToro.

What do investors have to say?

Nicolas Dessaigne, Group Partner at YCombinator, says, “At Y Combinator, we have a front-row seat to seeing AI fundamentally transform the way businesses operate, and it’s become clear that traditional identity verification methods, reliant on outdated practices like photos of physical documents, are no longer sufficient.”

“Since going through YC in 2021, Authologic has consistently demonstrated its ability to stay ahead of these trends. We are proud to back a team that not only meets the challenges of today but also anticipates the needs of tomorrow, driving the future of secure, automated identity verification.”

Adrian Kaczmarek, Head of Digital Sales at Santander Leasing, adds, “Onboarding customers to financial products at scale is a challenging task. First of all, providing only document-based ID verification doesn’t cut it anymore. You need multiple options, including government-issued digital IDs and Bank IDs.”

“Second of all, the market is changing rapidly and as our business grows, we require new methods and new capabilities. Through the one-time integration of Authologic e-ID Hub, we started to address these challenges. We now have the flexibility to add new integrations and capabilities within days, not months.”

Utrecht-based Flavour, a company specialising in playful learning and activation through applied gaming and storytelling, has secured investment from Northwave Cyber Security and ROM Utrecht Region.

In a statement translated from Dutch, Susanne Schilderman, the Utrecht alderman for Economic Affairs, says, “Digital crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Everyone is now familiar with phishing emails and text messages that are sometimes almost indistinguishable from the real thing.”

“Digital skills are therefore extremely important to protect yourself and others around you. It is good that the ROM Utrecht Region is investing in this innovation!”

This funding will enable Flavour to advance its mission of promoting digital security and empowerment. By continuing to develop its technologies and educational programmes, Flavour aims to strengthen its efforts to combat online risks and enhance digital skills globally.

What does Flavour offer?

Flavour employs a method called Hero Centered Design, which encourages behaviour change by approaching end users as heroes and aiming to create a positive societal impact. 

Founded by Tim Murck, Emily Jacometti and Jaïn van Nigtevegt, the company focuses on digital safety through programmes like HackShield and HeroCenter. 

HackShield is a game for children aged 8-12 that raises awareness of cyber threats and works with over 200 municipalities, schools, and organisations to foster a cyber-safe generation. 

HeroCenter uses storytelling and gamification to make learning and behaviour change engaging and effective for various social and organisational issues.

Capital utilisation

The funding will support Flavour’s growth strategy, particularly with HackShield’s goal to expand internationally. 

As an initiative in online safety for young people, HackShield aims to extend its global reach, equipping children with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves from online threats.

This expansion is expected to increase HackShield’s impact, helping to foster a generation more resilient to cyber risks.

Emily Jacometti, co-founder of Flavour, says, “This investment underscores our commitment to building a safer digital future for everyone. With the support of Northwave and the ROM, we can increase our impact and make a lasting difference in the world of online safety.”

What do investors have to say?

Founded in 2006, Northwave Cyber Security is a European cybersecurity specialist with offices in Utrecht, Leipzig, Brussels, and Stockholm. The firm enhances organisations’ cyber resilience by integrating processes, IT infrastructures, and employee behaviour. 

Northwave’s Computer Emergency Response Team (NW-CERT) has been providing certified incident response services since 2011, assisting hundreds of companies annually in handling digital attacks and ransomware recovery.

Speaking about the investment in Flavour, Steven Dondorp, CEO of Northwave Cyber ​​Security, says, “Our mission is to make a positive impact on our society. We make that contribution by making and keeping medium-sized and large organisations digitally resilient. Our corporate philosophy not only has the commercial perspective, but also the broader social perspective where it goes well together.”

“With our investment in Flavour, we are specifically investing in the further growth of Hackshield, because we believe it is important that children learn to deal with the positive and negative aspects of digitalisation. That is why we always take Hackshield with us to the countries to which we expand our company. A good example of this is the recent launch of Hackshield in Scandinavia, in collaboration with the Safer Sweden Foundation.”

Jeffrey Williams, Sr. Investment Manager at ROM Utrecht, adds, “With benefits in the field of learning pleasure and knowledge retention, we expect the use of games as a learning tool to increase significantly in the coming years.”

“The impact and ambitions of Flavour fit in well with our investment strategy and with this investment we are pleased to be able to support Flavour in its further international rollout.”

ROM Utrecht Region is a social investor focused on supporting companies in key sectors like digital, health, and sustainability. To enhance access to capital, ROM collaborates with partners within and beyond the region.

The firm manages two funds: the Startup Innovation Fund and the Participation Fund, the latter co-financed by the province of Utrecht and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The investment in Flavour was made from the Participation Fund.

Enginsight, a German provider of cybersecurity solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), announced that it raised €6M in a fresh round of funding led by UVC Partners, with Carsten Maschmeyer’s seed+speed fund as a co-investor.

The investment will help the company enhance its platform to protect Germany’s SMEs from increasing cyber threats.

Alexander Kölpin, Investor and MD at seed+speed Ventures, says, “We are proud of how Enginsight has expanded and improved its product portfolio in recent years. It is not only large companies that are increasingly at the centre of cyber attacks; SMEs and smaller companies are also being forced to seriously protect their software and hardware systems.”

“Enginsight provides business and administration with an all-in-one security platform plus support and consulting that offers all-round protection made in Germany.”

The funds will help Enginsight to strengthen its market leadership in the DACH region and expand internationally. The company will focus on branding campaigns, growing its sales team, and forming new partnerships while enhancing its software to provide SMEs with optimised, future-ready cybersecurity protection.

What is Enginsight trying to solve?

SMEs, representing 99.4 per cent of the German economy, are vulnerable to cyberattacks due to limited resources and expertise. In 2022, cyberattacks caused €203B in damages, according to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). 

Various reports call for stronger cybersecurity efforts. Enginsight’s platform aims to protect SMEs from financial losses caused by such threats, benefiting businesses across various industries and sizes, from small to large companies.

Mario Jandeck, co-founder and CEO of Enginsight, says, “Our goal is to ease the burden on IT managers in SMEs and provide them with the transparency and control they need over their networks. Every day, about 70 new vulnerabilities are discovered in software products – a massive threat, especially considering the sensitivity and importance of business data.”

“With our holistic approach, which focuses on threat detection, prevention, and automated vulnerability management, companies can act proactively to protect themselves.”

Cybersecurity for SMEs

Founded in 2017, Enginsight provides cybersecurity solutions designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Its software is developed in-house and is used by SMEs and IT service providers to check and improve IT security. 

Enginsight’s goal is to make IT security more transparent and automated, helping to reduce the risk of human errors, which are a common cause of cyberattacks. The company aims to offer effective and long-lasting protection for SMEs with its “Made in Germany” solution.

Andreas Unseld, General Partner at UVC Partners, says, “From our perspective, the biggest challenge for many SMEs is the lack of comprehensive solutions that are both affordable and quick to implement.”

“Enginsight’s customers benefit from a pre-configured platform that can typically be deployed and operational within a day. The company combines threat detection, monitoring, and response in a single system without requiring multiple isolated tools. That’s why we believe Enginsight’s offering perfectly aligns with the needs of today’s market.”

Brief about UVC Partners

UVC Partners is a venture capital firm based in Munich and Berlin. It specialises in European B2B tech startups. With over €600M in assets, it typically invests between €1M to €10M initially and up to €30M per startup in sectors like deeptech, climatetech, mobility, and software/AI. 

As an independent partner of UnternehmerTUM, UVC Partners has access to deal flow, a network of over 1,000 corporates and SMEs, and talent from the Technical University of Munich. Its portfolio includes companies like Flix, Isar Aerospace, and TWAICE.

Hovedstaden-based Uniqkey, a company that offers password and access management solution, has raised €5.35M in funding to expand its cybersecurity solution across Europe, helping companies become more resilient to cyber-attacks and data theft.

According to a statement from Uniqkey, rising geopolitical tensions and decades of underinvestment in digital infrastructure have left Europe dependent on foreign technology, threatening its digital sovereignty. Uniqkey aims to bolster Europe’s digital independence.

Investors supporting Uniqkey

The round was led by Swedish VC BackingMinds, with contributions from industry veterans including Jesper Zerlang (former CEO of Logpoint), Lars Ankjer, Otto Krabbe, Rolf Bladt, and several notable angels and key employees.

Susanne Najafi, Founding Partner at BackingMinds, says, “At BackingMinds, we invest in what we call blind spots – overlooked areas with great potential. With less than 1 per cent of all founders in Cyber security being immigrants and with only 2 per cent of all Cyber security startups coming from the Nordics, Uniqkey stands out as a hidden gem.”

Sara Wimmercranz, Founding Partner at BackingMinds, adds, “After tracking 500+ cybersecurity startups across Europe, it was clear that Uniqkey stood out. We have been impressed by Hakan, the company’s management team, their technical expertise and are very happy to support them in their mission to protect Europe from the growing cyber threat.”

Aiming to become the go-to security solution

Companies often underestimate the threat of cyber-attacks, which can devastate their operations, especially as digital footprints grow with remote work. 

Uniqkey’s military-grade cybersecurity solution addresses this by offering encrypted password protection directly to employees, significantly enhancing security. 

By requiring a mobile app for system logins—similar to national ID apps used for banking—Uniqkey ensures high-level encryption and eliminates the need for users to remember passwords, mitigating the risk of data theft and cyber-attacks.

Hakan Yagci, CEO and founder of Uniqkey, says, “Today, everybody’s got a mobile phone. Mobile phones have become an essential way we access our everyday life online. That is exactly why we’ve made the mobile phone central to Uniqkey’s security solution, and a big part of why we’re seeing great demand for our solution.”

“In the same fashion, as mobile apps have changed the way we send money instantly or access our bank accounts, Uniqkey will change the way we access systems internally within the company – easy, fast and secure.”

Uniqkey aims to evolve beyond password protection to become a complete digital security guard for employees, focusing on education and enhancing cyber awareness across organisations. 

The company looks to bolster the security of European citizens and companies against cyberattacks.

Capital utilisation

Hakan Yagci, CEO and founder of Uniqkey, says, “Today we protect 500+ SMEs across Europe and we’ve seen great demand for our cyber security solution, having grown 100 per cent YoY over the past two years.”

“We can really feel the pull in the market and want to keep investing in growth and product. With the investment, we invest in continued growth and keep up with the latest safety standards.”

Simon Cederstråhle Hellstrøm-Melander, CMO of Uniqkey, adds, “This new funding will help accelerate the way we scale our technology to thousands of companies across Europe in the coming years. Protecting SMEs is at the heart of what we do and hopefully, we can play an important part in Europe’s rising cyber landscape.”

Brief about Uniqkey

Founded by Danish entrepreneur Hakan Yagci, Uniqkey emerged from the need to balance cybersecurity with usability. Initially developed to secure his previous company, Uniqkey has evolved into a solution addressing major security challenges. 

The company now provides a password and access management system, delivering military-grade security with convenience for IT and employees alike.

Yagci launched the company after encountering challenges with cybersecurity solutions in his prior role. Following his departure from OrderYoyo, which was IPO’d in 2021, Yagci founded Uniqkey, built a team, and grew the company to 50 employees.

Are you a Windows user experiencing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error? Well, you are not alone!  

In a rare event, millions of Windows users and tens of thousands of organisations across the industry globally witnessed a real blackout, all thanks to a problem with Crowdstrike’s Falcon sensor.

At the time of writing, Microsoft’s shares were down 0.71 per cent in the US, while CrowdStrike’s shares declined 3.35 per cent.

This unexpected event has left businesses and critical infrastructure reeling, with reports of disruptions at airports affecting airline check-ins.

Here are some of the reactions to the massive outage from some of the companies

What is BSOD?

Blue Screen errors (also sometimes called black screen errors or STOP code errors) can occur if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly.

You might see a message that says, “Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer,” or a similar message.

The reason

The primary cause of the BSOD error is a significant outage affecting CrowdStrike’s Falcon, which is responsible for securing Windows computers.

Crowdstrike has acknowledged the problem and assured users that they are working on a fix.

The company says in a statement, “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.”

“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website,” adds the company.

In a statement, Dmytro Tereshchenko, Head of the Information Security Department at Sigma Software Group, says, “The CrowdStrike failure has significantly impacted many organisations globally. This includes critical sectors such as banking, stock exchanges, airports, and emergency services. Recovery protocols are in place for those affected, though a comprehensive restoration across many entities will likely be a protracted process.”

“Users who have yet to encounter issues should be able to operate without significant disruption. Affected entities are already seeing progress in their recovery efforts. At Sigma Software Group, we’ve issued detailed guidelines to our team, and our experts are diligently addressing the situation to mitigate further impact,” adds Tereshchenko.

CrowdStrike: What do you need to know?

CrowdStrike is a global cybersecurity company with the most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity, and data.

Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft, and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.

Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity, and immediate time-to-value.

Manchester-based CultureAI, a human risk management platform, announced on Wednesday that it has secured $10M (approximately €9M) in a Series A funding round led by Mercia Ventures and Smedvig Ventures.

Existing investors, including Passion Capital and Senovo, also participated in the round.

The UK company will use the funds to invest in the evolution of its product and expand its team across all departments, aiming to double headcount over the next 12 months.

Additionally, it plans to increase its market profile and presence in the US.

What does Culture AI solve, and how?

Despite many companies investing heavily in awareness and training programmes over the years, Forrester predicts that 90 per cent of data breaches in 2024 will involve human error as infrequent security training doesn’t change employee behaviour.

And here’s where CultureAI comes into play!

“Security compliance is required for meeting specific standards and regulations. However, continuously forcing employees to sit through irrelevant, out-of-context security awareness training can leave employees feeling disengaged, and eager to click through as quickly as possible,” explains James Moore, the founder and CEO of CultureAI, when discussing how CultureAI is mitigating the risk of data breach to Silicon Canals. “Understanding individual needs and providing tailored coaching is important.”

The UK-based company’s platform enables organisations to understand the risk individually rather than at an organisational level only. 

It tracks over 40 real-time employee behaviours, empowering security teams to observe individual, departmental, and organisational changes.

“It’s then possible to meaningfully target employees with the automated, relevant coaching at the point of risk, to where they are working,” adds Moore.

CultureAI believes that even well-trained employees can make mistakes and as a result, it offers Automated Interventions to address risks as they occur.

The company also ensures employees are only contacted when immediate action is required or if there is critical information, they need to know to mitigate risks. This approach ensures minimal disruption for those who are already following best practices.

Provides tailored “just-in-time education”

According to Moore, CultureAI‘s platform leverages real-time data and advanced analytics to monitor and analyse employee behaviour, identifying learning gaps and opportunities.

Unlike traditional security awareness training programmes that rely on static, one-size-fits-all content, CultureAI provides tailored “just-in-time education”.

As a result, employees receive immediate, context-specific alerts and guidance based on their actions, which increases engagement and effectiveness.

“Our platform allows security teams to move beyond static course content and the simplistic ‘more training’ approach to risky behaviour. Instead, they can implement Automated Interventions to fix risks directly or deploy Nudges that empower employees to fix risks with a single click,” adds Moore.

The company’s analytics and reporting tools enable organisations to track behavioural shifts over time drill down into specific security behaviours.

Additionally, the platform reduces the “mean time to resolve” security issues by identifying previously unnoticed risks and facilitating automated fixes, says Moore.

Challenges

“The biggest challenge we’ve faced in growing our business has been in distancing ourselves from the security awareness training status quo,” explains Moore.

“We’ve successfully stood head and shoulders from the crowd by showcasing the art of the possible with behavioural data and advanced analytics. Once organisations realise they can identify and mitigate the majority of employee-created risks in real-time, they rarely continue searching for traditional training content and hoping employees follow the advice,” he adds.

Tackling new cybersecurity threats

Moore explains how to tackle the new cybersecurity threats: “We’re witnessing a rise in diverse emerging threats, from poisoned tenants and SAMLjacking to the unauthorised training of large language models (LLMs) on sensitive data disclosed by employees. The common thread among these threats is employee involvement.”

The UK company aims to combat these threats by ingesting and analysing telemetry from various sources, including popular web browsers, to identify when employees are at risk and intervene immediately.

The investor

Mercia Ventures is a proactive venture capital investor that makes equity investments of up to £10M across all sectors, specialising in Software, Consumer, Healthcare, and Deep Tech. As of 30 September 2023, Mercia Asset Management PLC has c.£1.5B of assets under management. 

Adam Lovell, Investor at Mercia Ventures, says, “CultureAI is at the forefront of developments in the emerging field of human risk management. With a deep understanding of the challenges that companies face, James and his team have developed a holistic solution that can secure businesses against a wide range of cyber threats. We believe the company is poised to achieve break-out growth. The funding will help it to further target a global audience and establish itself as a market leader.”

Smedvig Ventures helps B2B tech teams by investing between €4-8M in rounds of up to €20M across Europe. 

Joe Knowles, Partner at Smedvig Ventures, adds, “It is widely accepted that human error is the most prevalent vector for cyber-attacks and is poorly protected against by ineffective training programmes. Advanced analytics applied to real-time behavioural data presents an original approach for CISOs to control human cyber risk. CultureAI is pioneering this with its market-leading software, offering immediate visibility and mitigation of vulnerabilities. James has an incredible reputation as a thought leader in the space and we are excited to partner with him and his team alongside Mercia Ventures.”

Aaron Paddison, Associate Director – of Cyber Security at Peninsula Group says, “We recognised blanket training was having very little real impact when it came to improving employee security behaviours and we wanted a more targeted solution. CultureAI has been a game-changer for us in terms of understanding what our people are doing. Rather than relying on training modules, which people immediately forget, we can intervene as and when a risk is occurring.”

Roma-based Exein, an embedded IoT cybersecurity company, announced that it has raised €15M in a Series B round of funding. 

The round was led by an investor in cybersecurity and infrastructure software, 33N, and supported by Partech, along with existing investors United Ventures, eCAPITAL, and Future Industry Ventures (a Redstone/SBI fund).

Carlos Alberto Silva, Managing Partner at 33N, says, “Our investment in Exein reflects our commitment to back the most innovative cybersecurity companies in Europe and beyond. There is exponential growth in the number of connected devices especially in high-risk industries like robotics, space infrastructure and biotechnology, all of which require state-of-the-art security.”

“Exein saw this opportunity well before anyone else in the market. They have developed technologies that set the global standard for embedded cybersecurity. With the rise of regulatory frameworks worldwide, the demand for embedded security will only increase, and Exein is poised to lead this critical market.”

Capital utilisation

The funds will support Exein’s global expansion into Europe, the US, and Asia, with a new office in Taipei. The company also plans to double its workforce within the next year.

Gianni Cuozzo, founder & CEO of Exein, says, “Embedded security is now recognised as essential. We are already living in a digital world and connected devices permeate every aspect of our lives—from homes and cars to cities and critical infrastructure. Manufacturers need advanced, seamless embedded security, and Exein delivers just that.”

“We have always advocated for security-by-design as the only viable approach to connected device security and I am proud that we have pioneered a decentralised approach to security.”

“In our increasingly connected world, every device must be equipped with cutting-edge cybersecurity capabilities and I am excited to expand our presence across Europe, the US, and Asia, driven by our mission to create a safer digital world.”

Developing next-gen IoT-embedded cybersecurity

Founded in 2018, Exein is an embedded IoT cybersecurity company that focuses on device-level security by embedding advanced measures directly into device software. 

This use of AI ensures that security measures are not only advanced but also adaptive and proactive, providing a defence mechanism tailored to the specific needs of each manufacturer.

Using edge AI for real-time threat detection and response, Exein protects over 80 million devices daily across the industrial, automotive, and aerospace sectors. 

The company aims to transform IoT security with a decentralised approach, creating a digital immune system for each device, ensuring integration of security measures, and meeting stringent global cybersecurity regulations.

Exein is headquartered in Rome, Italy, and has offices in Germany and the US.

The Italian company has become integral to all Yocto Project initiatives, a leader in the embedded Linux sector, operating on six billion devices annually. This endorsement solidifies Exein’s position as the industry standard for embedded security. 

Exein has also formed partnerships with industry giants such as SECO, ARM, NVIDIA, AWS, and Lattice Semiconductor.

London-based Tracebit, a cloud threat detection and deception platform, has secured $5M (approximately €4.61M) in a seed round of funding led by Accel and supported by Tapestry VC.

The round also saw participation from angel investors, including Guy Podjarny (founder of Snyk), Tim Sadler and Ed Bishop (Tessian Founders), Mandy Andress (CISO of Elastic) and 20SALES.

Andrei Brasoveanu, partner at Accel, says, “Having worked with Andy and Sam (Tracebit co-founders) during Accel’s partnership with Tessian, I knew first-hand that they’re not only experienced technologists but also have strong commercial instincts.”

“The Tracebit team’s cloud-native approach to threat deception and focus on modern DevOps tools and practices has already gained impressive early traction with customers and I’m excited about partnering with the team again on this new journey!”

Tracebit detects and contains security incidents

For over 30 years, cybersecurity experts have been developing ‘threat deception’ methods to identify and understand attack patterns by creating decoy resources like ‘honeypots’ and ‘canaries’. Research shows that this approach, effective in slowing down attackers, has traditionally been complex and costly, limiting its use to elite security teams. 

However, Tracebit’s cloud-native platform solves threat deception by simplifying deployment and scaling across modern cloud infrastructures. 

This makes advanced threat deception accessible to a broader range of enterprises, enhancing their defensive capabilities against cyber threats.

Tracebit introduces cloud-native APIs to deploy customised canaries across cloud networks, attracting and identifying threats. With a light-touch infrastructure, enterprises can activate threat deception across cloud environments within 30 minutes, without hardware. 

Currently, Tracebit protects 250+ cloud accounts with 1,500 canary resources, managing 2.4 billion security events weekly.

Capital utilisation

Tracebit will use the funds to enhance its engineering capabilities and expand its product range, focusing on delivering accessible deception technology for enterprises globally.

Andy Smith, co-founder of Tracebit, says, “Our mission at Tracebit is to accelerate the mass adoption of threat deception for enterprises everywhere and to reduce the mean time for detecting an intruder from months to minutes.”

“Honeypots are one of the biggest deterrents to cyber attacks but have been underused for too long due to their cost and complexity. This funding will help us bring threat deception to enterprises that haven’t felt able to leverage it before.”

Brief about Tracebit

Tracebit is a cloud-native threat deception platform, scaling in the cloud with easy-to-install APIs that create customised canaries across enterprise networks. It accelerates threat detection, reducing the mean time to detection from months to minutes.

The company was founded in 2023 by co-founders Andy Smith (CEO) and Sam Cox (CTO). Tracebit emerged after the duo spent five years expanding the engineering team at UK cybersecurity startup Tessian, which was later acquired by Proofpoint in 2023.

Tracebit’s customers include Riot Games (creators of League of Legends) and UK genAI unicorn Synthesia.