Pioneering Cyber Security Firm Bags $30m Funding

A UK cyber security company which provides ultra-secure web browsing technology has raised $30 million (£22.7m) in additional funds from London-based investors.

Garrison has developed unique technology which allows users to access content on the web without worrying about exposing their organisations to cyber attacks. The company uses a technique to place a gap at the most fundamental electronic level between the internet and the end-user’s device, rather than relying on the traditional threat detection-based model.

“Organisations today recognise the ever-growing threat to their most sensitive data and systems posed simply by allowing employees to browse the web, but until now they’ve faced an unhappy choice: restrict web access and allow productivity to suffer, or run the risk of exposure to hackers,” said CEO David Garfield, who set up Garrison in 2014 with co-founder Henry Harrison.

The industry veterans previously worked together at national security specialist Detica and subsequently established the cyber security business unit at BAE Systems plc.

“We’ve designed the world’s first truly secure web browser to solve this problem, applying national-security-grade levels of protection to the commercial environment – at an accessible price point – in a way that doesn’t destroy the user experience as employees go about their work.”

The funding round was led by early-stage venture capital firm Dawn Capital and brings the total raised by Garrison to more than $50 million. It also included participation from existing backers IP Group, BGF and NM Capital.

The money will be used to expand Garrison’s sales and marketing activities, to grow the company’s engineering team and to enhance its ‘safe web browsing as a service’ cloud offering.

In the past 12 months the business has nearly doubled in headcount to more than 50 staff, appointed Tudor Brown, former president of Arm to the board and expanded its operations to the US.

Garfield added: The security industry has long suffered from overblown claims and overinflated prices, without ever ensuring organisations remain truly protected from even some of the most basic threats – this is particularly true of web browsing security.

“From day one our mission has been developing practical security tools that actually do what they’re supposed to. This funding round marks a key milestone for our business and will help us to transform the day-to-day security of many thousands more organisations worldwide.” – Business Cloud