A Newcastle cybersecurity business whose technology helps SMEs detect vulnerabilities in their IT systems has raised a further £500,000 to boost its growth plans.
Melius Cyber has raised the money from the North East Venture Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia. The funding follows an earlier £350,000 investment from the Venture Fund last June, which helped the company develop its platform and build in scalability.
Melius Cyber is a spin-off from IT business Melius Group, which has attracted a number of key clients including financial services and public sector bodies. It has strengthened its management team with a number of key appointments including that of Matt Little, an experienced technology leader, who has joined as chair. Now it is planning to use the latest investment to further enhance its platform and roll it out to a wider client base.
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Melius’s CyberSafe platform automates the process of vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, in which cyber experts simulate attacks on computer systems. The platform has been developed specifically for SMEs and aligns to the Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme to help companies secure accreditation by showing they have monitoring in place.
Richard Brown, CEO of Melius said: “We had a great 2022 in terms of moving the product forward, building our team and putting the foundations in place for growth. Our focus now is to grow our customer base and to continue to improve the product. This investment gives us the working capital we need to build our brand and market position.”
Ian Wilson, fund principal at Mercia, said: “Cybersecurity is no longer viewed as an optional extra but as an essential service, one that is required for reporting, insurance and governance purposes. Melius’s platform could solve the security headache for many SMEs.
“Its progress over the past nine months demonstrates the benefits that early-stage companies can achieve by offering them a wider support package – not only in providing funding but also helping them put the right people and structures in place. The latest funding round will enable Melius to move to the next level.”
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