Discover the 1st edition of the “European Cybersecurity Index” by AXC

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Article Date
November 14, 2022
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The year 2022 started strong with more than 580 million euros raised in cybersecurity in the first quarter and more than 880 million in the second. However, there is a  slight downward trend in the third quarter and we explain why. 

The great success of the beginning of the year 

If the number of deals is particularly high in January 2022, 24 deals with a total of €327 million raised, it is mainly because it shows the dynamism of the sector in 2021.This is notably thanks to remote working, with requests from customers on the subjects of threat anticipation or incident response.

A third quarter affected by a difficult economic context 

With almost 500 million euros raised between July and September 2022, this third quarter is still encouraging. They are driven by less significant investments due to a double context: the summer, a period of lower investment activity and the current economic crisis. The infographic demonstrates another identified and long-known blockage: the fragmentation of the European market.France seems to be more affected by the crisis than its European neighbors, with two deals against six in the United Kingdom, six as well in Germany and four in Switzerland.

Statistics that remain positive and promising 

  1. Some very significant rounds

During this third quarter, we have seen some very significant rounds that underline the need of companies in cybersecurity tools, especially in the areas of Threat & Actor Intelligence and Identity & Access Management. 
We can mention Acronis, a Swiss cybersecurity company that solves safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security challenges, at €250 million. 
Also, as demand for compliance and security soars, DataGuard tops up with €61 million. The German startup offers a compliance and security platform to help organizations operationalise data privacy, information security, and compliance – enabling them to generate trust, mitigate risks, and drive revenue.

  1. Early-stage investments

We also note a majority share of pre-seed and seed rounds, at 67%, which is all the more encouraging for the sector. In terms of amount, more than half of the rounds this quarter have amounts below 5 million euros. This indicates a strong confidence on the part of investors in the potential of these start-ups to compete with American and Israeli players.

  1. A feminization of the sector 

Finally, 17% of the startups that have raised funds this quarter include at least one female founder. This shows a growing feminization of the ecosystem and a continuous decrease of gender stereotypes in the industry.

Methodology: 

The Cybersecurity Index is based on data from Axeleo Capital's analysis as well as databases, such as Crunchbase in particular. These data sources mainly gather information on deals and rounds that have been publicly disclosed - many other raises are taking place, but without announcements or communications on amounts (thus difficult to track). The analysis is limited to companies headquartered in Europe, and with a value proposition focused on Cybersecurity. 

About Axeleo Capital:

Axeleo Capital 2 is a €50 million venture capital fund dedicated to B2B Tech start-ups, including cybersecurity, across Europe. Axeleo Capital is a venture capital firm active on the European technology scene and backed by a large pool of entrepreneur-investors. The fund offers startup founders a unique support framework that combines equity investment, operational and strategic coaching and an active ecosystem of over 100 high-level partners and mentors. Its Cybersecurity investments include Trustpair, Citalid, Mantra, Yogosha (exit) and Alsid (exit).