Edinburgh based cyber-security firm ZoneFox closes £3.6 million Series A funding round

Leading cyber-security software specialist ZoneFox, has today closed a £3.6 million Series A funding round. The round is led by Scottish business angel investment syndicate, Archangels, with co-investment from The Scottish Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise's investment arm, and TriCap and follows the £2.5 million in seed funding the company has taken since 2010.

Based in Edinburgh, ZoneFox focuses on providing world class security systems that effectively combat the growing issue of insider threats to businesses across the financial, pharma, gaming and other business sectors. Its customers include healthcare firm Craneware, Zenith Bank and Rockstar Games.  It recently launched a new machine based learning solution, called ZoneFox Augmented Intelligence (AI). The product, which is the most advanced of its kind to be developed in the UK, has been created over the course of six years and is targeted at a wide range of business sectors.

This funding, which is the largest round ever to be led by Archangels, will be used to grow the business over the next year and beyond. As well as continued product development and innovation, ZoneFox  will triple its headcount to 30 staff by the end of 2017, move into a new HQ in Edinburgh and also open a London office, where an extension of its sales and tech team will be based.

The announcement of this Series A round comes on the back of a strong 12 months for ZoneFox, which is headed up by Dr Jamie Graves, a PhD graduate from Edinburgh Napier University. ZoneFox grew by 400% in revenue terms and appointed former BT and O2 Board Director, Steve Davies, as Chairman. It also won two Scottish Cyber-Security Awards, at the inaugural ceremony, for International Contribution to Cyber-Security and the overall Champion of Champions trophy.

Commenting on the funding round, ZoneFox CEO Graves said: “ZoneFox has been working exceptionally hard over the last six years to develop a product that will provide the modern enterprise with a truly 21^st Century cyber-security solution. Insider threats are a serious problem for global enterprise. Such is the sophistication of these attacks and the methods used by cyber-criminals, the human mind alone can no longer be expected to monitor and combat such threats alone.

“We have established a strong reputation and generated a lot of interest from some global organisations, which have in turn become clients. Having the funding and support of Archangels, The Scottish Investment Bank and TriCap will allow us to continue to grow and develop ground-breaking solutions that will protect businesses.”

Niki McKenzie, Investment Director at Archangels added: “Archangels’ investors were keen to lead this round of follow on funding in an area that is currently underserved. Customers using ZoneFox report that the product is helping them to shape more robust, tailored and effective IT policies, alerting them to security threats from within their own walls.” 

NOTES TO EDITOR:

For further information on the announcement contact :

Michael House, on behalf of ZoneFox: michael.house@aspectuspr.com/ +44 (0) 20 7242 8867

Callum Spreng, on behalf of Archangels: callum@sprengthomson.com / +44 (0)141 548 5191 / +44 (0)7803 970103

About ZoneFox

ZoneFox focuses on providing world-class security systems that effectively combat the growing business issue of insider threats. Through ground-breaking and sophisticated machine learning technology it provides rapid insights that are critical for helping businesses create a strong security posture, all from a single dashboard. This allows security teams to see where business-critical data is going, who is accessing it and importantly who is doing things with it they shouldn’t be – either accidentally or maliciously – quickly, easily and without impacting on endpoints or user privacy.

Based in Edinburgh, ZoneFox is headed up by Dr Jamie Graves, a former PhD student at Edinburgh Napier University. In November, it launched a new machine based learning solution, called ZoneFox Augmented Intelligence (AI). The product, which is the most advanced of its kind to be developed in the UK, has been created over the course of six years and is targeted at a wide range of business sectors.

About Archangels                                                

Archangels is a prominent business angel syndicate which has been at the forefront of early stage investing in Scotland for more than two decades. Its members invest in, and mentor, promising start-up and early stage companies from Scotland’s vibrant technology and life sciences sectors. Originally formed in 1992 and based in Edinburgh, the syndicate now comprises over 70 investor members and leads investment of around £10m per year in early stage Scottish companies, including leverage from partners, the largest being the Scottish Investment Bank. www.archangelsonline.com

Archangels is interested in Scottish technology companies, which are looking for initial funding of £50,000 to £2m. In addition, Archangels is keen to welcome new investors to its syndicate.

About Scottish Investment Bank

Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the investment arm of Scotland’s main economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise, operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It manages a suite of co- investment funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Scottish Venture Fund, which are partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Renewable Energy Investment Fund and the Scottish Recycling Fund.

SIB is the cornerstone investor in the privately-managed Scottish Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners and an investor in Epidarex Capital’s life sciences fund. Our investment funds support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to growth capital. We also provide a team of financial readiness specialists to help companies prepare for new investment and access appropriate finance.