GCHQ accelerator alumni startup raises £1.3m funding to accelerate growth

A GCHQ cyber accelerator alumni has secured £1.3m in venture capital funding to expand operations and accelerate growth.

London-based startup CyberSmart has secured the financing led by deeptech investor IQ Capital to grow its cybersecurity proposition.

Founded by Jamie Akhtar and Mariella Thanner in 2017, CyberSmart specialises in compliance technology using machine learning to assess and address vulnerabilities with SME systems.

After being selected to take part in the first GCHQ accelerator programme, the firm’s technology is used by organisations such as Thriva, LiveSmart, Receipt Bank, Hitachi and the The Supreme Court.

Jamie Akhtar, CEO of CyberSmart, commented: “Having been in stealth mode since 2017, through both GCHQ’s Cyber Accelerator and CyLon, we’re excited to be able to scale our operations and start talking about how we’re helping to protect our nation’s most promising businesses from cyber threats.

“This funding will enable us to achieve scale within our home market and invest in enhanced technical capability.”

Kerry Baldwin, partner at IQ Capital, added: “CyberSmart is a superb example of the types of companies that IQ Capital invests in - deep tech startups with the potential for global scale.

“Cybersecurity is now at the top of the agenda at board-level for all data-rich businesses, however, few have proactive strategies in place to tackle the issue.

“CyberSmart is backed by the government to help and certify businesses, and we are excited to be part of their growth journey.”