The round will go towards further expanding into global railway markets
Cylus, the global leader in rail cybersecurity, announced today that it has raised $30M in a Series B round led by U.S. firm Ibex Investors and joined by Vertex Growth Fund, Strides International Business, Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures Israel, Israeli serial entrepreneur Zohar Zisapel, who is a member of Cylus’ board, and Glenrock Israel. This latest round brings the company’s total funding to over $57M. In addition, in line with Cylus’ expansion strategy in the US, William Heinrich, former CISO of Amtrak and BNSF Railway, and Mark Grant, former CISO of CSX Transportation, will join the company’s advisory board.
Rail systems are undergoing a digital revolution, becoming far more connected and advanced, and as a result, face a rapidly growing threat landscape. To combat this, lawmakers worldwide are calling for greater cybersecurity regulations and railway companies are demanding more robust cyber solutions. Set to reach over $10 billion in just five years’ time, the demand for railway cybersecurity solutions is skyrocketing.
CylusOne is the first-to-market, leading cybersecurity solution that offers continuous monitoring and real-time protection for the global railway industry. Cylus’ solution provides 360-degree protection for all rail systems, regardless of size and geography, enabling real-time threat detection, advanced forensics and mitigation, simplified security operations and more. CylusOne takes just a few hours to install, requiring zero downtime, fully integrating with new and legacy systems with no changes to the network architecture required, providing full visibility within seconds. The company offers mainline and urban rail operators a complete real-time cybersecurity view that covers all levels – from the network’s entire topology down to the granular level of each and every asset of a railway system.
“We have seen a massive wave of digitization in the railway industry over the last few years. Despite this being a very positive trend, it has also entailed an exponential expansion of the surface area hackers can access to penetrate railway networks – which could lead to serious outcomes in one of the most core modes of transportation and critical infrastructure,” said Gal Gitter, Partner and Managing Director of Ibex Investors, who will now become a Cylus board member. “Cylus changes all of that by providing the most advanced and holistic cybersecurity platform for railway networks and operators. Cylus’ platform is already in place across many of the world’s leading railway operators, and we believe it will become the ubiquitous platform used across the industry. Together with its industry partners and collaborators, Cylus is on a mission to enable secure railway operations and travel for the years to come, and we could not be more excited to back them.”
“Cylus provides an essential element of protection to critical infrastructure that will enhance the safety and performance of train systems,” said Vertex Growth Fund Managing Director TAM Hock Chuan. “Vertex Growth is proud to help back Cylus’ technology, which we believe offers the most comprehensive solution for rail cybersecurity on the market today.”
With rising government investment in critical infrastructure and growing cybersecurity regulations in the US, Cylus will use the current funding to fuel its growth in North America, as well as across Europe and Asia Pacific.
“The railways are such an essential part of our critical infrastructure, and really, of our everyday lives, that it is crucial that this industry gets the level of cyber protection it demands, and needs,” said Amir Levintal, CEO and Co-founder of Cylus. “This tremendous vote of confidence from our leading global investors and partners will allow us to continue to provide best-in-market cybersecurity for this high growth market as we onboard more customers and partners worldwide.”
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