A St. Petersburg-based cybersecurity company has spent the last three years testing its technology and is now ready to unveil its platform — along with a solid funding announcement.
"We have spent the last three years to come out like a lion," Code-X founder and CEO Darren LaCroix said.
The company offers a software as a service platform, which protects sensitive information across multiple environments concurrently. The platform includes video, email and chat functions that can work simultaneously without the threat of being hacked.
It was founded in 2018 by LaCroix, who had two co-founders join him six months after he began work. The trio spent their time the last three years running multiple tests in the defense field. It is now validated by the Department of Defense and intelligence community.
"It's very much time for us: First, the technology is ready," LaCroix said. "In an early-stage tech world, you have to be very specific about how you go about your movement. Now that we've been through heavy military experiences and have multiple DOD contracts, it's now time to take it to the commercial world and start solving across the board."
With the public launch of the brand comes the announcement that Code-X recently closed a $5 million Series A round, led by Virginia-based By Light Professional IT Services LLC with participation from Boca Raton-based fama Ventures. The funding will be used for sales and marketing efforts.
Covid-19 has accelerated the need for sophisticated cybersecurity systems for many companies, giving a boost to the cyber industry as a whole.
"Part of it was Covid, and people having to understand a management of data over very diverse platforms," LaCroix said. "The other is the significant increase in attacks and the obvious vulnerabilities in our nation-state adversaries. And the public is starting to realize our nation-state adversaries are attacking commercial properties and citizens."
Code-X officials also plan to hire up to 40 people in the St. Pete area by the end of the year, adding to the company's existing 13 full-time employees. The company has a second office in Georgia but believes St. Pete can provide a solid place for growth.
"JP [DuBuque, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp.] and everyone else has been great; it's a great environment to build a business," he said. "Everyone works together and we're looking to create an innovation group, which would have everyone from the DOD and business world solve problems in the community and elsewhere."
LaCroix said the company has three major contracts sealed, with a potential 10 more contracts finalized in the next 12 months. It will initially have a focus on the defense and health care fields.
"The growth in the world of cyber has been exponential, especially in the DOD space," LaCroix said. "People have turned their caps around, saying they need an innovative approach and the old school method does not work."
