Protexxa, one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies in Canada has closed a $10 million Series A funding round. This follows the $5 million seed funding raised back in 2022 and sets a new record in Canada for the largest amount raised by a sole Black woman founder. With the latest round, the total funding raised by the company accounts for $15 million.
This follows the recent cybersecurity investments such as PureCyber, OnSecurity, and Filigran.
Who invested in Protexxa?
The investment came from 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.
How will it use the investment?
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 US 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.
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.
What does the company do?
Protexxa was founded by global information technology and cybersecurity executive, Claudette McGowan, with a 30-year career in IT. It is a B2B SaaS cybersecurity company that connects the dots between personal cyber hygiene and business risk.
It offers an AI-powered platform, Protexxa Defender, which rapidly identifies, evaluates, and resolves cyber issues. 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. With a key focus on prevention and increasing global cyber literacy, the company also offers personalised training and consulting for companies worldwide.
Protexxa CEO Claudette McGowan said, “When it comes to cybercrime, 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 prioritises people through assessments and training that improve cyber hygiene and create more secure organisations.”
