Tessian Adds New Strategic Investors to Advance Security at the Human Layer
Following its Series C fundraise in May 2021, leading Human Layer Security company Tessian announces that it has received strategic investment from Okta Ventures, Citi Ventures and Sozo Ventures as part of a Series C extension. The extension also sees investment from executives at CrowdStrike as well as Fortune 500 CISOs. It brings the total Series C funds raised to $74m.
The additional funding will help Tessian accelerate its mission of mitigating and preventing human risk in the enterprise, and empowering people to do their best work without security getting in the way.
Human error is the leading cause of data breaches in organizations today. This is because cybersecurity software has typically focused on the machine layer of a company and not the people - the gatekeepers to the most sensitive systems and data in an organization. The so-called ‘people problem’ in security has been exacerbated as businesses move to a remote or hybrid way of working, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. To overcome this, Tessian has pioneered a new approach to cybersecurity and defined a new category of security software called Human Layer Security.
With the additional investment, Tessian will expand its platform’s capabilities beyond email, securing other interfaces like messaging, web and collaboration platforms from incidents of human error. It will help companies to replace their secure email gateways and legacy data loss prevention solutions.
Austin Arensberg, Director at Okta Ventures said, “The biggest threat to enterprise security today is people’s identities and behaviors. With more people working remotely, it’s never been more important for companies to know who their most high risk employees are, the threats they pose to company security, and how to keep them safe - without disrupting their workflow. We saw a huge opportunity with Tessian; by securing the human layer, businesses can stop threats and keep operations running.”
“From consumers to enterprises, the human factor remains the chink in the cyber armour,” explains Suman Natarajan, Senior Vice President of Venture Investing at Citi Ventures. “We are impressed with Tessian’s holistic approach to tackle human layer security with advanced algorithms to block sophisticated attacks and thoughtful design with coaching for end users. The Citi Ventures team is thrilled to invest and support the Tessian team on the next step of their journey.”
Tim Sadler, CEO and co-founder of Tessian said, “For too long, cybersecurity software has focused on securing technology and neglected the security of the people who run the organization. It just takes one wrong decision, or one instance of human error, for an employee to cause a catastrophic security breach - and businesses are starting to realize that they now must do something to stop this. With backing from best-in-class investors and executives from some of the world’s most innovative security companies, we are truly on our way to fulfilling our mission of securing the human layer and helping businesses overcome one of the biggest threats to enterprise security.”