Mobile phone theft is increasing, with one reported stolen every six minutes in London. In this digital era, your mobile phone is a one-stop, access-all-areas personal device. It’s your payment method, communication central, and keeper of your secrets. Having a phone stolen is no longer just about replacing a handset; there is critical, valuable data stored on it. If criminals access it, the potential financial and reputational damage can be significant.
UK-based Nuke From Orbit tackles this rising problem by providing the instant invalidation of stolen data. Working to revolutionise mobile security, the startup has now raised £500K in a pre-seed funding round.
The investment came from several UK-based companies and investors, including Oliver Bridgen, co-founder & COO of specialist FX broker Ballinger Group, and Jordan Hallows, founder of Wey Bridging Finance.
Eyes public testing
Nuke from Orbit will use the funding to prepare the technology for public beta testing in the UK market in late 2024 and expand the team to bring partners on board. It also plans to take the service global, prioritising countries with high smartphone adoption, higher crime rates and strong traction in modern financial services such as Open Banking.
Invalidates stored data
In case of a mobile theft, Nuke from Orbit, founded by James O’Sullivan and Neil Mukerji in 2023, will cancel debit and credit cards instantly, block phone SIMs to limit communication with your smartphone, secure your email, social media and other accounts such as banking apps, emails, and digital wallets.
To make this possible, the startup will partner with financial, telecommunications, social media, De-Fi and other technology providers who give users access to platforms through mobile applications and interfaces.
How was the idea born?
During a night out in Dublin with friends, the co-founder James O’Sullivan’s phone goes missing. Once home, he tried to track his phone from another device, only to find his Apple password had been changed. He couldn’t reset his Apple password without his phone and discovered tens of thousands of pounds had been spent across the cards in his Apple Pay wallet.
It took about six hours for him to cancel all of his cards and change the passwords on various accounts accessible via the device, but by that time, the damage had already been done. Nuke from Orbit is a result of his search for an emergency solution. The startup’s mission is to halt cybercriminals in their tracks, ensuring that people’s invaluable data remains secure and out of reach from prying eyes.
‘‘We are thrilled for the support from our investors who believe in our mission to safeguard mobile data. This investment is not just a financial boost, but a propelling force that will catapult us towards expanding our partner base as we gear up to launch our dynamic partner portal. We’re not just aiming to disrupt the mobile security market, but we’re on a journey to redefine it. A huge thank you to our investors for believing in us and supporting us as we embark on this exciting adventure,” said James O’Sullivan, CEO and founder of Nuke From Orbit.”
Lead investor Bridgen, added, ”The knock-on effects of mobile phone theft is a huge problem that no one has adequately got to grips with. After analysing the size of the addressable market, I was confident to support Nuke From Orbit’s mission to combat the growing threat of cyber and financial crimes.”
