May 2023
CYBERSECURITY
Sekoia.io has raised €35M in a new round of financing, a record amount for a European cybersecurity company in Series A
This confidence granted by Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Depôts group) and Bright Pixel allows Sekoia.io to continue its expansion and to develop its international footprint.
Sekoia.io, the European cybertech company that develops the Sekoia.io XDR (eXtended Detection & Response) platform for real-time detection of cyberattacks announces that it has raised €35M from Banque des Territoires, European investor Bright Pixel (former Sonae IM) and its historical investors Omnes Capital, Seventure and BNP Paribas Développement. The fundraising follows a previous round of €10M in 2020.
Despite the investment market slowdown at the beginning of 2023, Sekoia.io is delighted with the confidence its investors have shown in the strong foundations of the company and its teams, as well as in its ambitious and innovative approach to make Sekoia.io a European leader in the cybersecurity space and strengthen its positioning on the international stage.
In 2015 and faced with a growing cyber threat, the founders of Sekoia noticed the lack of effective alert correlation tools within operational security teams to detect cyber-attacks in real time. In 2020, after 5 years of R&D, the start-up launched Sekoia.io, a cyber threat detection and response platform to protect against increasingly complex attacks thanks to a cyber threat intelligence offering designed by its team of researchers. In addition to offering a modern detection platform, Sekoia.io stands out for its approach that favors interoperability through the integration of all its customers’ cyber solutions to provide a single control tower.
Sekoia.io currently has about 100 employees and has recorded 250% growth in turnover over each of the last two years. The company’s goal is to protect more than 3.5 million employees throughout Europe within 24 months.
Freddy Milesi, CEO of Sekoia.io mentions: “Since the public launch of our platform in 2020, Sekoia.io’s technology has proven its worth to the security teams of major CAC40 companies, large European and French administrations, as well as major players in managed security services. Thanks to the confidence of our investors and partners, we now wish to widely distribute our innovative technology in order to become the leader in cyber detection and response in Europe.”
“This investment in Sekoia.io is mainly driven by their experienced team, innovative technological approach, and strong international ambition. The combination of technical expertise and industry knowledge will position the company for success in the long term. As active and global investors, we are excited to partner with actors like Sekoia.io to help them on their international expansion. We bring our expertise and network to help them navigate new markets and expand their reach. We believe that Sekoia.io has the potential to make a significant impact in the cybersecurity sector, and we are thrilled to be a part of their journey,” says Fernando Martins, Director at Bright Pixel.
Cédric Clement, Head of the Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty investment cluster at Banque des Territoires emphasizes: “We are delighted to be a shareholder of Sekoia.io. We believe its innovative and unifying approach is essential for the cyber ecosystem, an approach reinforced by initiatives such as the Open XDR Platform, and we are delighted to contribute to supporting this sector of French excellence, in line with our commitment to digital sovereignty.”
“Sekoia.io is now one of the key players on the French cyber scene. As historical investors, Seventure, BNP Paribas Développement and Omnes Capital are proud to renew their confidence in this very highlevel team, and thus help them to take this new European step” underlines Fabien Collangettes, Associate Director at Omnes Capital.
About Sekoia.io
Sekoia.io is a European cybersecurity company whose mission is to develop the best protection capabilities against cyber-attacks. Its intelligence-led operational security SaaS platform acts as a true control tower for effective, real-time detection and response to cyber threats. Sekoia.io believes that effective protection must enable customers to fully utilize their existing technologies and prioritizes interoperability and standards enforcement in its development. www.sekoia.io
About Bright Pixel Capital
Bright Pixel Capital, formerly known as Sonae IM, is the technology investment arm of the multinational group Sonae. With special focus on cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and retail technologies, it has a portfolio of more than 50 companies, from early to growth stages. Bright Pixel Capital acts as a partner that brings specialized know-how, global footprint, and a wealth of experience in helping companies from early stage to IPO. Find out more at brpx.com.
About Banque des Territoires
Created in 2018, Banque des Territoires is one of the five business lines of Caisse des Dépôts. It brings together in a single structure the internal expertise aimed at the territories. As a single point of entry for customers, it offers tailored advisory and financing solutions for loans and investments to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing bodies, local public companies and the legal professions. It is aimed at all regions, from rural areas to metropolitan areas, with the ambition of fighting against social inequalities and territorial divides. Banque des Territoires is deployed in the 16 regional divisions and 37 territorial offices of Caisse des Dépôts in order to be better identified with its clients and to be as close as possible to them. For more attractive, inclusive, sustainable and connected territories. www.banquedesterritoires.fr
About Omnes Capital
Omnes is a leading private equity firm dedicated to the energy transition and innovation. With nearly €5 billion in assets under management, our teams create long-term partnerships with entrepreneurs across 4 core businesses: renewable energy, sustainable cities, deep tech venture capital and coinvestment. For over 20 years, Omnes has been using its expertise to help companies grow with a focus on sustainability in over 15 countries. As a responsible investor, the company has set up the Omnes Foundation to support non-profits helping children in the fields of education, health, social and economic integration. Omnes is also a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible
Investment (PRI). www.omnescapital.com
About Seventure Partners
Seventure Partners is a long term equity investor that actively supports innovative companies aiming at generating positive impacts on Humankind, Society, Sustainability and the Planet. With €900m net commitments under management as of the end of 2022, Seventure is a leading venture capital firm in Europe investing since 1997 in innovative businesses with high growth potential in 2 main areas: (i) Digital technologies in Western Europe and (ii) Life sciences with a specific interest for microbiome-related innovations across Europe, Israel, Asia and North America. Investments can range between €500k and €10m per round and up to €20m per company, from early to late stage, growth, pre-IPO and IPO. www.seventure.fr/en
About BNP Paribas Développement
BNP Paribas Développement is an independent subsidiary of BNP Paribas which has for more than 30 years taken minority stakes in successful SMEs to support their growth and secure their long-term development by facilitating their transmission. In 2016, BNP Paribas Développement set up a team which specializes in investing in Innovation-oriented companies, from the provision of seed capital through all subsequent funding rounds, with the aim of supporting the growth of high-potential startups. In addition to providing the financial resources that permit stability, BNP Paribas Développement’s mission is to assist management teams in carrying out strategic medium-term projects. As a minority shareholder we provide our partners with appropriate governance without interference in day-to-day management. They also benefit from the strength of a leading banking group and the experience of a partner with more than 500 diversified investments, including 80 startups. www.bnpparibasdeveloppement.com/
