Denmark-based cybersecurity startup Uniqkey has efficiently raised €5.35 million in a brand new funding spherical led by Swedish enterprise capital agency BackingMinds, together with contributions from business veterans and key angel buyers. This contemporary injection of capital is about to propel Uniqkey’s mission of enhancing cybersecurity for European corporations, notably small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in opposition to the ever-increasing threats of cyber assaults and knowledge theft.
In a world the place digital threats are escalating at an alarming price, the necessity for strong cybersecurity measures has by no means been extra vital. By 2024, international losses as a consequence of cybercrime are anticipated to succeed in a staggering $9.5 trillion, a pointy rise from $3 trillion in 2015. European corporations are notably susceptible, with German corporations alone dropping €205.9 billion to cyberattacks in 2023. The European Union as a complete faces comparable dangers, having misplaced €268 billion to cybercrime in 2018.
Rising geopolitical tensions, notably between Russia, Ukraine, the US, and China, have additional intensified the stress on the EU to bolster its cybersecurity capabilities. Years of underinvestment in digital infrastructure have left Europe closely reliant on overseas applied sciences, difficult its digital sovereignty. Startups like Uniqkey at the moment are enjoying a pivotal function in decreasing this dependence and securing Europe’s digital future.
Uniqkey’s strategic function
Uniqkey is dedicated to scaling its military-grade cybersecurity answer throughout Europe, with an bold aim of changing into a market chief in password administration inside three years. The corporate presently protects over 500 SMEs throughout the continent and has skilled 100% year-over-year development over the previous two years. With the brand new funding, Uniqkey goals to broaden its attain to hundreds of corporations, strengthening their defenses in opposition to cyber threats.
Uniqkey’s CEO and Founder, Hakan Yagci, emphasizes the significance of the corporate’s strategy: “Right now, everyone’s bought a cell phone. Cellphones have turn into an important method we entry our on a regular basis life on-line. That’s precisely why we’ve made the cell phone central to Uniqkey’s safety answer, and an enormous a part of why we’re seeing nice demand for our answer. In the identical trend as cellular apps have modified the way in which we ship cash immediately or entry our financial institution accounts, Uniqkey will change the way in which we entry techniques internally throughout the firm – simple, quick, and safe.”
Addressing the SME Safety Hole
The European economic system closely depends on its 24.3 million SMEs, which make up 99.8% of all corporations within the area. Nonetheless, with over 12 million of those companies missing a cybersecurity plan, your entire economic system is in danger. The approaching NIS2 and DORA laws will quickly maintain firm administrators and boards personally accountable for his or her cybersecurity measures, very like GDPR has remodeled knowledge privateness practices.
Uniqkey’s answer addresses a major vulnerability in firm defenses: poor password administration. With 81% of information breaches ensuing from weak or compromised passwords, Uniqkey’s encrypted password safety gives a sturdy protection mechanism. The corporate’s answer integrates seamlessly with cellular units, requiring a cellular app for system logins, akin to native ID apps used for banking throughout Europe.
Funding and Imaginative and prescient
BackingMinds, recognized for investing in “blind spots”—neglected areas with important potential—sees Uniqkey as a standout alternative within the cybersecurity sector. “With lower than 1% of all founders in Cyber safety being immigrants and with solely 2% of all Cyber safety startups coming from the Nordics, Uniqkey stands out as a hidden gem,” says Susanne Najafi, Founding Associate at BackingMinds. Her colleague, Sara Wimmercranz, provides, “After monitoring 500+ cybersecurity startups throughout Europe, it was clear that Uniqkey stood out. Now we have been impressed by Hakan, the corporate’s administration crew, their technical experience and are very completely happy to assist them of their mission to guard Europe from the rising cyber risk.”
For Uniqkey, this funding is not only about scaling their enterprise—it’s about safeguarding Europe’s digital future. As Simon Cederstråhle Hellstrøm-Melander, CMO of Uniqkey, places it, “This new funding will assist speed up the way in which we scale our know-how to hundreds of corporations throughout Europe within the coming years. Defending SMEs is on the coronary heart of what we do and hopefully we are able to play an essential half in Europe’s rising cyber panorama.”
As Europe braces for a future the place digital safety is paramount, Uniqkey’s imaginative and prescient extends past password administration. The corporate goals to turn into a digital safety guard for workers, enhancing cybersecurity consciousness and defending companies from the within out.