Global VC investments in cyber security at record levels; UK leading in Europe.
You may remember the moment that KPN got hacked by a 17-year-old in 2012. Research showed that due to a vulnerability he was able to hack into the computer system of KPN where, amongst more, customer information was stored. This is one of many examples of the last few years where companies are being attacked online. However, these attacks do not only happen to companies, but also to consumers with for example e-mail hacks and phishing attacks. With these attacks growing in frequency, and size, cybersecurity has been getting more and more attention. This becomes even more visible when looking at the security start-up and investment scene, of which an analysis has been made by KPN Ventures.
The analysis shows that the total investment amount in security companies over the entire globe has reached a new all-time high. However, when looking only at European companies, the investment amount in 2018 seems to have decreased compared to 2017. Both in the global and European market the number of deals has been dropping since 2017. Which leads to the statement that the global investment amount per deal must have risen.
When we have a closer look at our own continent the United Kingdom stands out. Not only does it have the most European security investments in 2018 it also has the top 5 largest investments of 2018. Moreover, you can find the most accelerators (programs to facilitate a startup’s growth) specialized in cyber security in the UK. France, Spain and Sweden followed the UK regarding the total amount of investments in 2018.
Our report further shows the most active investors in European companies of 2018, with the top one investing in 8 European security companies. The report also lists the most active acquirers of European companies.
KPN has been growing its investments in cyber security. In the last two years it has acquired two cybersecurity companies: QSight and DearBytes, building out its portfolio and market position in security services. Furthermore, through its investment arm KPN Ventures, it actively invested in several security startups: Cybersprint, CUJO.AI, ZecOps, EclecticIQ and Security Matters. The latter, Security Matters, has successfully been acquired by Forescout in 2018. This was the largest European exit in cyber security of a company younger than 10 years of the past 3 years!
In case you have any questions regarding the market developments, data or activity within KPN Ventures, feel free to comment or ask questions by sending us an e-mail at kpnventures@kpn.com.
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