The company's AI platform helps organizations
and their employees find and fix critical cybersecurity
gaps
TORONTO, July 23,
2024 /CNW/ - Protexxa, one of the fastest-growing
cybersecurity companies in the country, has announced the
successful close of its second funding round.
Founded by global information technology and cybersecurity
executive, Claudette McGowan, the
company's AI-powered platform, Protexxa Defender, rapidly
identifies, evaluates, and resolves cyber issues.
With 90 percent of cyber attacks attributed to human error,
organizations work with Protexxa to connect the dots between
personal cyber hygiene and business risk. The AI-powered platform
gives companies and their people a cyber health score and helps
them make swift improvements, such as finding exposed passwords and
removing online images. To help teams recover from cyber attacks
faster, Protexxa also provides tailored incident response plans to
support customers when cyber attacks occur.
The successful $10 million Series
A raise marks another significant milestone in Protexxa's work
towards fortifying global cyber defense through individual cyber
hygiene. After raising a $5 million
Seed in 2022, Protexxa set a new record in Canada for the largest amount raised by a sole
Black woman founder. Now reaching $15
million raised in total, McGowan is among the most
successful VC-backed female founders in North America.
The new capital will fuel engineering and data science
innovations on the platform, and grow its sales and marketing teams
as it expands further into global markets. Looking to the United States as its next major
opportunity, the company is already seeing demand for its
enterprise solution among financial, telecommunications, and
healthcare institutions where security concerns are mounting.
Protexxa CEO Claudette McGowan
said, "When it comes to cyber crime, most leaders think they're
outnumbered, underfunded, and ill-prepared. The fastest way to
change that narrative is to activate their greatest strength:
people. Protexxa prioritizes people through assessments and
training that improve cyber hygiene and create more secure
organizations."
Investors in the Series A include Bell Ventures, the venture arm
of the country's largest communications company, Bell Canada, and Sandpiper Ventures, a fund for
women-led innovations. The round also saw strong support from
existing shareholders, Export Development Canada, BKR Capital, The
Firehood Angels, and Graphite Ventures. Further investors include
Global Risk Institute President and CEO, Sonia Baxendale; Tricon and Cidel Co-founder,
Geoffrey Matus; former Home Depot
Canada CEO and current NRStor CEO, Annette
Verschuren; and business lawyer and Distinguished Counsel in
Residence at Toronto Metropolitan
University, Ralph Lean.
Additionally, Protexxa has welcomed a new advisor, Communications
Leader and Philanthropist, Dr. Donette
Chin-Loy Chang.
"People are overlooked when it comes to cybersecurity solutions
– a blindspot that leaves companies exposed. Protexxa has proven
the human-side of risk is where the world needs to focus," said The
Firehood Co-founder, Danielle
Graham.
Protexxa
Protexxa is a B2B SaaS cybersecurity company that connects
the dots between personal cyber hygiene and business risk. Using
AI, the Protexxa Defender platform rapidly identifies,
evaluates, predicts, and resolves common cyber issues. With a key
focus on prevention and increasing global cyber literacy, Protexxa
also offers personalized training and consulting for companies
worldwide. For additional information, visit protexxa.com and
follow Protexxa on LinkedIn and Instagram: @protexxacyber.
To understand your company's cybersecurity vulnerabilities,
visit protexxa.com or call 1-877-992-9237.
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SOURCE Protexxa