South African startup Sendmarc, which has become a leader in email and domain security, has raised a US$7 million Series A funding round to expand its market enablement strategy and further develop its product.
Sendmarc helps customers avoid email impersonation such as phishing and spoofing – from which over 90 per cent of cybercrime starts – by locking down their email domains and monitoring for attempted abuse. Subscribers have access to a suite of tools that implement, monitor and maintain global best practices for email and domain security.
The startup actively enforces its email and domain security protection for thousands of companies worldwide, including stock exchanges, banks, insurance companies, tech companies, retailers, municipalities, law firms, and law enforcement agencies in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Latin America.
Its US$7 million Series A round was led by Atlantica Ventures and supported by Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures, Fireball Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, 4Di Capital, Kalon Venture Partners, Endeavor Harvest and Alpha Private Capital. The funding will be used to expand its market enablement strategy and to continue improving its product, with a focus on being the best in email and domain security.
“We are proud to have protected over 10 billion emails from impersonation last year,” said Sendmarc CEO and founder Sam Hutchinson. “And with this new funding we can expand our market enablement strategy and also continue to improve the product, while remaining hyper-focused on being the best in this specific area of defense.”
Aniko Szigetvari, Atlantica principal and co-founder, said cybercrime had become a major disruptor of economic activity both in Africa and worldwide, costing companies and governments billions of dollars annually in financial loss and reputational impact.
“Atlantica Ventures is supporting African digital security startups and solutions that address this growing issue or pain point. The Sendmarc team is focused on a key area of cybersecurity – email and domain security protection. We are excited to back an exceptional founding team to further support the growth of their product and geographic expansion,” she said.
