Cytix secures £1.6m seed investment from Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II to expand operations
The round was co-led by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II and Praetura Equity Finance, with backing from Auriga and SFC Capital.
Cytix provides automated cybersecurity testing that integrates with software development cycles to identify vulnerabilities in real time. The Manchester-based firm offers an alternative to annual penetration testing.
Manchester-based cybersecurity specialist Cytix has secured £1.6m in a seed financing round to expand its client base and scale operations. The investment was co-led by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II through Praetura Equity Finance, with participation from French firm Auriga and existing backer SFC Capital.
The company provides an alternative to traditional annual penetration testing by analysing code development changes in real time. Cytix plans to use the fresh capital to double its customer base within twelve months and target the enterprise, banking, and financial services sectors.
The funding arrives as demand increases for automated defences against online threats, positioning the business to scale its operations from its North West base.
From the founder
"Automated scanning technologies have transformed the way we identify and remediate most vulnerabilities. However, companies still need to rely on manual penetration testing for certain classes of vulnerability that automated tools can’t detect. This area of the market has remained largely a stagnant and annual process, meaning a proportion of vulnerabilities are left to be detected just once a year. Cytix is here to change that using the latest AI models to bring all testing forward and create targeted testing at scale."
Ben Armstrong
Co-founder and CEO at Cytix
Investor perspective
"The North West is rich with innovative cybersecurity companies doing transformational work to protect businesses in all sectors. Now Cytix is pioneering a new form of penetration testing that improves results for clients, providing the business with a perfect platform for growth."
Michael Rees
Investment Manager, Praetura Ventures
Use of funds
- 01Grow the team
- 02Continue product development
- 03Invest in sales and marketing
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