SynSaber, an industrial cybersecurity startup, said Thursday that it had raised $13 million in series A funding.
Florida-based SYN Ventures (unrelated to the company) led the round with additional participation from Rally Ventures and Cyber Mentor Fund, all of which invested in the company’s seed round in July 2021.
SynSaber, which has about eight employees who work remotely, deals with industrial customers like utility providers, manufacturers and energy companies to ensure machines in remote locations are secure. The company focuses on cybersecurity for operational technology — as opposed to information technology or IT — to secure things like assembly lines, power generating stations and other machines that are not connected to the internet.
Jori VanAntwerp, Chandler-based CEO and co-founder of SynSaber, told AZ Inno that operational tech like substations or assembly equipment are relatively simple machines that were not designed to be connected to networks. This lack of connectivity means companies lack visibility into these systems and their security, a problem SynSaber has set out to fix.
“We're trying to keep the lights on at your house, the water running,” he said. “I wanted to empower people to understand security better, and to actually impact their own environments, so that's what really drove me and my co-founder to found the company.”
VanAntwerp co-founded SynSaber in 2021 with Ron Fabela. The pair met while working together at another cybersecurity startup before deciding to start their own venture.
SynSaber makes small sensors, which it calls Sabers, that attach to machinery as well as software for customers to monitor their equipment. The software is custom for each client and augments existing systems.
Jay Leek, managing partner of SYN Ventures, said the new funding will help SynSaber reach new customers.
"This financing round will extend SynSaber's capacity to amplify their industrial cybersecurity and asset monitoring solution alongside expanding the company's customer base," he said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing what the future holds for the co-founders and their company."
VanAntwerp said the funding will be used to hire researchers and developers to improve their product offering, as well as sales people. Though SynSaber is a remote first company, VanAntwerp said it's possible it may establish a brick-and-mortar industrial lab in the future.
To date, the company has raised $15.5 million in outside funding.
