DefenseStorm, a cloud-based cybersecurity firm in Alpharetta, has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Georgian Partners.
The company plans to add Justin LaFayette, managing partner at Georgian Partners, to its board of directors and work with the Georgian Impact team to fast track technology in AI, according to a news release. DefenseStorm will also add approximately 25 new hires to the 43 associates currently on the team.
The Impact team consists of tech practitioners with expertise in deep learning, software engineering, natural language processing and privacy. By joining the Impact team, DefenseStorm will further develop its current cybersecurity and cybercompliance capabilities of its platform and services. The company also plans to invest in the growth of the teams that sell, implement and support these offerings.
“DefenseStorm is leveraging these Series A round funds to invest in the continued growth of our company," CEO Harold Brewer said. "Plans include increased hiring of top talent in sales and account management, product development and in our TRAC Team that acts as the daily interface with our clients. Those efforts are already underway. We will also step up marketing efforts and continue to evolve our offerings to meet the rapidly-evolving needs of the cybersecurity and compliance demands that our clients face."
Founded in 2014, DefenseStorm is a cybersecurity and cybercompliance management provider to regional and community banks and credit unions. Its platform offers bank management oversight and reporting, smart threat response, security expert, big data and community intelligence solutions.
“We are very excited to be partnering with DefenseStorm through this new investment and our R&D collaboration,” Mads Mihailescu, partner and CTO at Georgian Partners, said in a statement. “The combination of DefenseStorm’s deep domain expertise, and our own expertise in trust and artificial intelligence, has already identified a number of opportunities to further accelerate new product capabilities.”
Prior to this funding, the company has raised seed and angel investments, bringing its total funding to $29.9 million, according to Crunchbase.
“Looking forward to the rest of 2019, we will continue to execute on our strategic plan which includes many of the growth initiatives already outlined," Brewer said. "Most importantly, we will continue to deliver value to our bank and credit union clients by partnering with them to provide real-time cyber safety and soundness. Delivering for our clients and living up to the trust they’ve put in DefenseStorm is our number one priority.”
