Cybersecurity awareness firm SoSafe makes jump to plaid, raises $73 million

SoSafe, a Cologne-based startup that provides a cybersecurity training platform to corporate clients, has raised $73 million in a Series B round in order to accelerate international growth.

According to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020, 24% of data breaches are caused by human error, costing $3.9 million on average to remediate and 280 days to resolve. Figures that add up to a projection of $6 trillion in costs in 2021 alone. Not cheap by any measurement. As we’ve seen over the course of the pandemic cybercrime has risen dramatically, and according to the PwC Global Digital Trust Insights 2021 report, 55% of executives plan to ramp up their cybersecurity spending in 2021.

Founded in 2018, the German startup plays in the same field as Bristol’s Immersive Labs, Milan’s Cyber Guru, and to some extent Italy’s CyberXcelerato, and points to its unique user-centered approach to cyber security as a USP. According to the company, end-users delight in gamification elements that are embedded throughout the platform, while at the same time admins see a trouble-free installation and the ability to customise the offer to their hearts' content.

“Challenging the existing paradigms in security awareness and human risk management, we have seen tremendous adoption of our platform and extraordinary growth,” commented co-founder, managing director, and psychologist Dr. Niklas Hellemann. “We will now increase our international footprint further as well as advance our position as the leading second-generation security awareness and human risk platform, deeply rooted in behavioral science.”

SoSafe counts over 1,500 organisations including Aldi, Ceconomy AG, Taylor Wessing, Vattenfall, and Valtech as clients.

The $73 million Series B round was led by Highland Europe, with existing investors Acton Capital and Global Founders Capital now joined by La Famiglia, SAP Hybris founder and Celonis advisory board member Carsten Thoma and Adjust and Remote Public Labs founder Christian Henschel.

“SoSafe’s founders have built a trusted cybersecurity awareness and testing platform, underpinned by behavioral analytics and human risk scoring that sustainably protects the most important threat surface in cybersecurity – human security breaches. They have rapidly emerged as one of the leading software scale-ups, experiencing incredible momentum in a short period of time. As they expand their product and market vision, we have no doubt SoSafe will join the ranks of the latest global category leaders,” commented Highland Europe’s Gajan Rajanathan.