Cybeats secures pre-seed financing led by iNovia Capital

Photo of author

By Ted Liu

Cybeats has raised undisclosed amount in preseed funding from iNovia Capital, Maple Leaf Angels (MLA48 II), and cybersecurity industry insiders Dr. Richard Reiner, Brian O’Higgins, and Brian Bourne.

Dr. Reiner and Magaly Charbonneau, Principal at iNovia Capital, have joined Cybeats’ board of directors with D. Reiner assuming Chair position.

Cybeats intend to use funding to scale its sales team, to further develop new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities for the Cybeats platform, and to expand the company’s services into APAC and EU markets.

Founded in 2011 by Dmitry Raidman, Peter Pinsker and Vlad Kharbash, Toronto based Cybeats is an immune system for IoT devices that takes an “inside-out” approach to cybersecurity. Cybeats’ microagent is implanted into Enterprise IoT (EoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), and Critical Infrastructure IoT devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize the threat.

photo credit: Cybeats

News Release

Cybeats Raises Pre-Seed Round Of Investment, Led By iNovia Capital, To Create An Immune System For Enterprise IoT Infrastructure

-Cybeats is a complete solution to protect enterprise and critical infrastructure IoT devices, through their complete lifecycle, from both previously known and completely new cybersecurity threats

Toronto, January 15th, 2017 – Cybersecurity company Cybeats, which provides continuous cyber defense solution for Enterprise IoT infrastructure, today announces it has raised a preseed round of investment from iNovia Capital, Maple Leaf Angels (MLA48 II), and cybersecurity industry insiders Dr. Richard Reiner, Brian O’Higgins, and Brian Bourne.

“iNovia is excited to invest in Cybeats and its brilliant team, alongside a great group of investors. IoT and cybersecurity is a space that we have been looking into for a while, we believe Cybeats’ technology is solving a real problem, with the potential to become a global leader in the space”, says Magaly Charbonneau, Principal at iNovia Capital.

“Maple Leaf Angels is pleased to participate in this round with iNovia, Richard, and other angels, through its MLA48 Fund II. The cybersecurity problem is a growing global issue, particularly in IoT devices. We believe that Cybeats has the right team and technology to tackle this problem”, said Managing Director Prathna Ramesh.

Brian Bourne added, “The Cybeats team has built a unique, efficient and highly effective solution to the IoT security problem. They have developed their technology with a keen eye to the needs of enterprise and I am excited to be involved with such a talented team.”

“IoT essentially equips the internet with arms and legs, and brings about a whole new level of concern with safety and security. New technology is needed to address the problem, and Cybeats is right on course to deliver solutions” said Brian O’Higgins.

Cybeats is also announcing that Dr. Reiner, a renowned serial cybersecurity entrepreneur and executive with a long string of successful exits, is joining as Chairman of the company. Dr. Reiner brings to Cybeats many years of experience at the cutting edge of the cybersecurity industry – his insights will enable Cybeats to better identify business opportunities in the IoT cybersecurity market and to deliver better products faster.

“Cybeats solves a critical problem for enterprises deploying IoT technology, and for the manufacturers of these devices”, said Dr. Reiner. “IoT devices, until now, have been vulnerable and easy targets for hackers. Cybeats protects IoT devices throughout their lifecycle, so enterprises can benefit from the value of IoT technologies without increasing their risk profile.”

The funding will be used to scale Cybeats’ sales team, to further develop new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities for the Cybeats platform, and to expand the company’s services into APAC and EU markets.

Cybeats builds an immune system-like cybersecurity software for Enterprise IoT (EoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), and Critical Infrastructure IoT devices, such as those used in energy grids.

Taking an “inside-out” approach to cybersecurity, Cybeats’ software is embedded into the devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect the most sophisticated threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize them. Cybeats’ Cloud service then analyzes data from the infected device and provides a full threat diagnosis and treatment plan.

With an estimated 50 billion connected devices by the year 2020, the Internet of Things (IoT) is quickly becoming an integral part of our world. But with the increased opportunity the IoT brings, so too comes a multitude of new threats to cybersecurity – recent examples include a vulnerability in Intel’s processor chips allowing an attacker to access kernel memory and dump data, including passwords and encryption keys.

Out of the billions of newly connected IoT devices, 70% of the most commonly used contain vulnerabilities, meaning an exponentially larger number of access points that need to be safeguarded from cybercriminals. With all these vulnerabilities, Cybeats believes the future of IoT protection in the globally connected age will function similarly to how our own bodies detect, analyze and treat infections. Cybeats’ microagent is embedded into the devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect the most sophisticated threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize them.

As vanguards of the “Industry 4.0” trend – the revolutionary changes in automation and data exchange within manufacturing technologies – European nations will rely on innovations in data privacy and cybersecurity; and this demand is all the more urgent given that each nation must demonstrate compliance with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) this year. South Korea, meanwhile, is where much of the R&D for Chinese-manufactured IoT devices is headquartered. Both regions are therefore of strategic importance to the IoT industries.

“I am thrilled by the generous support from our investors and their commitment validates our mission to provide a true cyber immune system for industrial, critical infrastructure and Enterprise IoT companies,” said CEO and co-founder Dmitry Raidman about the investment.

Cybeats is a member of the L-SPARK accelerator, which gives early-stage Canadian SaaS companies the tools to scale their businesses.

L-Spark’s Executive Managing Director Leo Lax added, “We are pleased Cybeats has achieved this next step in their growth. The timing is right for a SaaS opportunity like this one to serve the IoT and connected devices market. This talented team is now well equipped with support from leading Canadian investors as well as continued mentorship from the L-SPARK team to scale into a globally competitive firm.”

About Cybeats

Founded by Dmitry Raidman, Peter Pinsker and Vlad Kharbash in 2016, Cybeats is an immune system for IoT devices that takes an “inside-out” approach to cybersecurity. Cybeats’ microagent is implanted into Enterprise IoT (EoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), and Critical Infrastructure IoT devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize the threat. Cybeats’ cloud SaaS ecosystem analyzes data from the infected device, providing CSOs and IT pros a full diagnosis and treatment plan for the threat, saving them time and money.