Cardiff-based cyber security firm Wolfberry has been rebranded PureCyber as part of its latest expansion.
It was set initially as an IT firm in 2011, before pivoting to cyber security consultancy.
It has taken new space at a new cyber security focused hub at the 1 Central Square office building in the centre of Cardiff. It has separate space on a floor, previously occupied by Hodge Bank, which is being provided Tramshed Tech as part of wider new £9.5m Cyber Innovation Hub for the Cardiff Capital Region.
PureCyber has quadrupled in size since 2018, with a strategy to double in again in the next two years. It also has an office in Dubai and currently employs 22.
Its founder and CEO Damon Rands said: “The past few years have been incredible for us a business and I’m so proud of our evolution from IT start-up in a windowless office, to the successful cyber experts we are today.
“There is constant confusion that cyber is an IT function when actually we believe passionately that cyber security is best offered as a separate but complimentary service to IT, to achieve the highest levels of cyber safety. Reflecting on this, our journey and future growth strategy, we have taken the opportunity to rebrand as PureCyber.
“We’re founded and headquartered in Wales and incredibly proud of our Welsh roots, but we’ve also got a strong global footprint and we are excited to move forward with our talented team at the forefront of change and innovation as PureCyber. With more and more business – of whatever size – now dedicated to hybrid working, security for those working from home has never been more crucial.”
The Cyber Innovation Hub is being led by Cardiff University with partners including Airbus, Alacrity Cyber, CGI, Thales NDEC, Tramshed Tech, and the University of South Wales.
It will be at heart the heart efforts to accelerate the size of Wales’ emerging cyber security sector and seeing a significant rise in private equity funding to help firms scale-up.
The hub, which will become operational by year end, will train more than 1,000 cyber skilled individuals and grow the cyber security sector in Wales by more than 50% (number of firms) by 2030.
It will also support efforts to attract more than £20m in private equity investment to scale-up around 50% of these businesses, as well as attracting more cyber-security firms, projects and research capacity into Wales.
It will also bring industry, government and academic partners together to support the growth of the sector.
Its activities will be spread at numerous locations across the Cardiff City Region, including a new cyber security co-working space operated by Tramshed Tech at 1 Central Square with entrepreneurship training at Alacrity’s hub in Newport.
Innovation activity will centre around Cardiff University’s cyber defence testbeds at Abacws to develop and test new cyber products. Thales Ebbw Vale, Airbus Newport and CGI Bridgend, will seed innovation challenges that are aligned to market demand.
The funding includes £3m from the Welsh Government over the next two years, alongside £3m from the City Deal for the Cardiff Capital Region – which covers the 10 local authorities of south-east Wales – and for which the Cardiff Bay administration is a co-funder alongside the UK Government.
