Cyber training startup Hoxhunt raises $40 million

Finnish cybersecurity training platform Hoxhunt announced Tuesday it raised $40 million in funding to expand into North American markets and grow its gamified technology development. 

The funding announcement highlights a new push some investors are making into a relatively old type of defense: teaching employees to be more aware of cyber risks. Hoxhunt’s approach gives all employees basic security training rather than marketing solely to security teams, and focuses on rewarding success rather than punishing failures. Its clients include DocuSign, Nokia, and G2.

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), instances of phishing campaigns and Business Email Compromise schemes — two vectors that cybersecurity experts say can be thwarted by better employee training — have increased in recent years, causing ransomware attacks to reach an all-time high.

“There is tremendous growth potential in the cybersecurity awareness category, which we at Level Equity Partners are thrilled to invest in again with Hoxhunt, who we see as best-in-class in terms of innovation, product design, and leadership,” said Sarah Sommer, co-Founder and Partner at Level Equity Management, which participated in the fundraising round.

Hoxhunt is not the only cybersecurity company to have raised large sums of money recently. Financial advisory firm Momentum Cyber found that cybersecurity startups more than doubled the $12.4 billion raised in 2020, with a new record of $29.3 billion raised in 2021.