GuardKnox Secures $21M To Boost Cybersecurity For Connected Cars

Automotive cybersecurity company GuardKnox announced it has secured $21 million in a Series A round of funding, bringing its total raised to $24 million.

This latest round was led by Fraser McCombs Capital with participation from global investors including automotive technology leader Faurecia, SAIC Capital (Shanghai Automotive), Glory Ventures, NextLeap Ventures, VectoIQ, Plug and Play, Allied, Cyphertech and Kardan LTD. In addition, a group participated as private investors, including Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Dr. Paul Achleitner, Robert Taub, Michael Diekmann, Prof. Dr. h.c. Roland Berger, Peter Loescher, Gerhard Roiss, Dr. Kurt Lauk and Stefan Hambrecht.

The funding will be used to expand GuardKnox’s R&D team, as well as support its global expansion.

“The automotive industry is experiencing massive disruption from emerging technologies,” GuardKnox CEO and Co-Founder Moshe Shlisel said in a press release. “Paired with increasing customer expectations, companies are under immense pressure to meet client needs and desires for added services, while also providing security solutions that keep pace with passenger safety and data security as well as the ever-changing regulatory environment. We are solving a critical industry pain point and believe our approach to high-performance hardware architecture and secured ECU’s is the best way for companies to ensure the safety of their connected and autonomous vehicles. We are proud to have such outstanding investors support our vision, and are confident they will bring immense value to the company.”

Founded in 2016, GuardKnox adapted methodologies used to defend fighter jets from cyber attacks and applied them to vehicle security to provide comprehensive end-to-end solutions to prevent cybersecurity attacks in real time, with no false positives and minimal maintenance efforts.

“With connected services available in a majority of new cars and trucks, the ability to secure vehicles and user information will soon redefine automotive brands and insurance,” added Mark Norman, managing partner for Fraser McCombs Capital. “FM Capital is proud to partner with the dynamic GuardKnox team delivering transformative cyber security solutions for the auto industry.”