November 14, 2023 at 01:45PM
Zip Security, a startup based in New York City and Washington DC, has raised $7.7 million in a financing round led by General Catalyst. The company aims to provide affordable and accessible cybersecurity solutions to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Zip offers a SaaS platform and service that minimizes the resources needed for effective security. The funding will be used to further develop the software and provide advanced capabilities to customers.
Zip Security, a startup based in New York City and Washington DC, has recently announced a $7.7 million financing round led by General Catalyst. The funding round was co-led by Human Capital and saw participation from Box Group. Zip Security’s main focus is to bring advanced cybersecurity capabilities to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that lack the resources of larger firms.
SMBs, according to the company, are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals because of their supply chain access to larger firms while also being less well defended. This is contrary to the popular assumption that only large businesses with valuable industry intellectual property are targeted. Ransomware, in particular, affects businesses of all sizes.
Quentin Clark, the Managing Director at General Catalyst, has highlighted that smaller businesses often lack cyber security expertise and resources, which makes them vulnerable to attacks. Small businesses can’t afford to have dedicated Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) or an entire security organization, deploying and overseeing security software and policies.
In response to this problem, Zip Security aims to make cybersecurity more affordable and accessible for smaller businesses and their customers. The company offers a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform and service that minimizes the in-house resources required for effective security. Zip Security’s CEO and co-founder, Josh Zweig, has used the recent iLeakage example to emphasize the importance of implementing mitigation measures promptly.
Zweig has described small businesses as the “Department of One,” where often only one person handles security or IT-related tasks, or in some cases, none at all. Larger companies with established security teams can handle security issues like the iLeakage bug, but it can be challenging for SMBs. Zip Security aims to integrate best-in-class security tools, such as CrowdStrike, Okta, Jamf, and Microsoft Intune, to help small businesses run similar security programs to large corporations at a fraction of the time and cost.
Zip Security was founded by Josh Zweig (CEO) and Gabbi Merz (CTO). Both founders are alumni of Palantir and have experience in building security for government, critical industry, and Fortune 500 companies. The company plans to use the newly acquired funding to scale up the development of their software product. They aim to provide more advanced capabilities, such as device trust, automated patch management, and identity threat detection, to deliver best-in-class security for their customers.
Additionally, Zip Security aims to make the process of securing a company easy and enjoyable for its customers. They believe that the cybersecurity market needs a SaaS solution tailored to SMBs. The company wants to help its customers focus their time and resources on their core mission.