CYSEC raises EUR 2 million to grow in the NewSpace industry

CYSEC, a specialist in data protection, particularly in confidential computing, has raised EUR 2 million from Karista to establish itself in the NewSpace market. The startup was voted one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups every year since 2020. It also participated in the Venture Leaders Technology program in 2021 as well as the ESA BIC Switzerland, which is run in partnership with Venturelab.

CYSEC, a confidential computing software provider, developed ARCA Trusted OS, an operating system that protects sensitive data at runtime via confidential computing. The company offers its services to various sectors, including financial services, critical infrastructure (IoT), and the space industry, where it seeks to boost its growth.

The startup has built a client base and honed expertise that is unrivaled in Europe to protect data obtained through NewSpace missions. NewSpace commercial operators will benefit from the new technologies drawing on cloud computing on board their satellites. An early version of CYSEC’s edge computing was embedded onboard a SpaceX rocket in January 2022 to be tested in actual space conditions.

The company participated in the ESA Business Incubation Centre Switzerland, a nationwide initiative powered by the European Space Agency (ESA) and ETH Zurich. The incubator offers extensive support packages to startups that exploit technologies related to space for an application on earth or technologies from earth adapted for usage in space. ESA BIC CH is a collaboration with Venturelab, Impact Hub, Venture Kick, and AP-Swiss. The company has been supported by the ESA in several strategic projects since then.

The proceeds from this financing round will enable CYSEC to reinforce its sales teams in France and recruit new engineers and sales professionals. The company closed a seed extension financing round in January with CHF 4 million, led by Line Break Capital and supported by Indaco Venture Partners SGR.

The company was one of five winners of the Swisscom StartUp Challenge 2021 and made the TOP 100 Swiss Startup ranking every year from 2020 to 2022. It was also selected to be a Venture Leader Technology in 2021.

The CYSEC team (from left to right): Luca Gabella, Matthieu Legre, Yacine Felk (co-founder and COO), Alexandra Vaillant, Sarah Moussouni, Matthieu Bailly, Marc Hentsch, Patrick Trinkler (founder and CEO), and Emna Amri