CybersecurityInvestment

Cybersecurity firm Netacea has raised £9 million in Series A funding.

The Manchester-based business detects and mitigates against bot attacks that target mobile, website and API applications, using threat intelligence and machine learning to identify and mitigate threats in near real-time. 

This approach does not require code to be inserted on customers’ web pages, allowing it to stay hidden from attackers while also protecting mobile apps and APIs.

Investors in the round consist of experienced professionals behind some of the biggest names in the cybersecurity sector. As well as long-term backer Mercia Asset Management, investors include Rupert Cook, chairman of Netacea; Gerhard Watzinger, chairman of Crowdstrike; Marcin Kleczynski, CEO at Malwarebytes; Alex Eckelberry, a non-executive director at Malwarebytes and former NED at KnowBe4; and John Viega, former CEO at Capsule8.

The funding will enable Netacea to expand its presence in the UK and the US, where it has landed several big name customers including Shutterstock.

Half of Netacea’s sales team is now based in the US and plans are in place for this proportion to grow. 

“A simplistic rules-based approach to bot management won’t cut it anymore,” said Eckelberry. “Security suites need to be supported by dedicated bot management solutions that can respond to new threats and take advantage of new threat intelligence. 

“Netacea’s agentless approach is the right one.”

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