Csiro Innovation Fund joined Westpac-backed Reinventure to co-lead cybersecurity platform creator Kasada’s latest round, which will help fund recruitment and international expansion.
Australia-based cybersecurity technology developer Kasada has closed an A$6.5m ($4.6m) round co-led by Main Sequence Ventures, which manages research institute Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Csiro)’s Innovation Fund, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.
Main Sequence Ventures co-led the round with Reinventure, a VC fund backed by and strategically aligned with banking firm Westpac.
Founded in 2015, Kasada has created a software product called Kasada Polyform that protects web-based enterprise platforms from cyberattacks such as automated bots and denial-of-service overloads.
Kasada Polyform is accessed through a user-orientated centralised dashboard providing granular detail on the client’s web traffic. The company is currently aiming to win business in the financial services segment.
The cash will enable Kasada to extend its market profile in the US while employing more software engineers in Australia to help spur further product development. Mike Zimmerman, founder and general partner at Main Sequence, will join the board.
Zimmerman said Kasada’s cybersecurity expertise aligned with a key target area for several Australia-based research organisations, raising the prospect of collaborations that would strengthen its product offering.
Reinventure and fellow VC firm Our Innovation Fund had previously supplied Kasada with $2.5m of capital in March 2018.
