London–based Red Sift, a cognitive data platform that provides cloud-based email security solutions, has raised €8 million investment round led by MMC Ventures along with new investor In-Q-Tel, the CIA-backed venture capital firm, and existing investors White Star Capital and Oxford Capital. The news of the Series A funding comes as Red Sift plans to expand into the US and makes its latest product, OnINBOX, publicly available.
Founded in 2015 by Rahul Powar and Randal Pinto, Red Sift is a cybersecurity business that uses machine learning to analyse and synthesise data from core business processes, such as email, to help its global customer base better manage its online security.
Red Sift has already enjoyed considerable success with its OnDMARC product to prevent phishing attacks and email impersonation, growing its customer base over 800%, including brands such as Telefonica, ITV, Action for Children and Sadler’s Wells. The investment will be used to expand into the US.
Its latest product – OnINBOX – is testament to Red Sift’s continued commitment to making cybersecurity technology more cost-effective and easier to use. Its intelligent email threat detection shores up email inbox defences by helping people better understand whether the emails they receive are legitimate and trustworthy.
“As a long-standing service provider to the UK government, we’re committed to supporting its National Cyber Security Strategy initiatives,” said Ian Colcomb, CISO at Amey, a leading supplier of global consulting and infrastructure support services. “OnINBOX’s ability to help our employees differentiate between real emails and the latest in highly targeted and well-crafted phishing emails helps us to maintain our high-security standards.”
“The bruising reality for businesses is that it is around 400 times more expensive to defend against an attack than it is to launch one, meaning the economics of cybersecurity have to date, always favoured the largest businesses with the deepest pockets,” said Mina Samaan, Investment Manager at MMC Ventures. “It’s through our serverless data platform, Red Sift, that we are able to offer intelligent and accessible SaaS solutions that combine modern security standards with the latest machine learning techniques to make it easier for organisations to reduce the threats their users face every day.”
“This funding round will help us to continue developing transformational cybersecurity solutions essential for everyday cybersecurity for all types of organisations,” said co-founder and CEO of Red Sift Rahul Powar. “We’re thankful to our new investors for their specialised insights and support in helping us to realise our vision as we continue to grow our strong EMEA customer base and expand into the US.”
“Red Sift’s nimble technology platform ensures there are quick answers to questions,” said Nat Puffer, Managing Director of IQT UK. “This agile ‘computers not consultants’ approach means solutions can quickly be built and adapted to keep up with the pace of rapidly changing attacks targeting enterprises and governments.”
