Predictive cybersecurity outfit Smarttech247 Group lists in London

AI cybersecurity provider Smarttech247 Group has went public on London's Alternative Investments Market.

At around 11AM this morning, the Ireland-HQed company's listed shares remained stable at 30.5p a piece, up from the placement price of 29.66p.

The IPO issued a total of 12.4 million new ordinary shares. Following the listing, Smarttech 247 collected £3.67 million in gross proceeds and has achieved a market capitalisation of roughly £36.8 million at admission.

Smarttech247 is already turning a profit and claims its turnover in the 2021 financial year rose 20% above expectations.

The company's VisionX platform specifically deals in what's known as automated managed detection and response (MDR), which trains predictive analytics based on big data collections like IP logs from the client's network, allowing automation to differentiate between genuine and malignant cyber traffic. Smarttech has also launched the ThreatHub and NoPhish cybersecurity solutions.

A key advantage of automated MDR is said to be its ability to quickly identify viruses already present in an organisation's networking environment.  And better cyber protection has become paramount as the rise of connected IoT devices has extended the attack surface, namely the number of entry points that hackers can break into. 

There's also a need for cybersecurity tools to competently stop threats in networks which delegate some functionalities to the cloud. Smarttech tells its customers VisionX is functional in cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments, enabling "24/7" threat monitoring. The company's clientele mainly hail from the US as well as European markets, in verticals ranging from tech to pharmaceuticals, industry and services.

Smarttech 24/7's existing private equity investors include tech-focused investor Pires Investments'  software-focused fund SVV1. The SVV1 vehicle has a combined direct and indirect equity stake of around 20%.

Pires Investments non-executive director Nicholas Lee commented: "We are very pleased that Smarttech247 has now completed its listing on AIM against the background of current difficult market conditions. 

"This is further demonstration of the returns that can be generated from the company's investment in SVV1 and we are looking forward to more of the same as the fund continues into its realisation phase."