nsKnox Raises $15M Led by Viola Ventures & M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, to Meet Growing Demand for Corporate Payment Protection
Rising cybercrime sophistication and magnitude spurs demand for nsKnox's solution against manipulations and fraud
BOSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- nsKnox, a leading provider of corporate payment protection solutions based on its innovative Cooperative Cyber Security technology platform, today announced the completion of a $15 million Series A funding round. The funding was led by Viola Ventures and M12, Microsoft's venture fund, with the participation of Discount Capital, the investment arm of Israel Discount Bank, and previous seed investors.
The funding will enable nsKnox to expand its global customer base and to further develop its corporate payment protection platform – helping to ensure verified and secure business transactions, mitigate reputational risk and prevent billions in corporate losses.
78% of companies were victims of payment fraud in 2017 according to a recent report by the Association for Financial Professionals. With billions of dollars lost annually to cybercrime, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is cautioning companies to consider cyber-threats when implementing internal accounting controls.
nsKnox's real-time corporate payment protection platform helps defend organizations against cyber-fraud, internal fraud, social engineering and data manipulation attempts throughout the journey of the payment. The technology allows organizations to validate payment authenticity, verify sender and receiver, and identify and prevent manipulations – safeguarding the payment process seamlessly across every point of transaction, including enterprise, bank, and supplier. The platform utilizes nsKnox's innovative Cooperative Cyber Security (CCS), a new paradigm combining the strength of multiple cybersecurity systems from several organizations to secure both outbound and inbound payments from fraud. CCS is exponentially more secure than other solutions because it combines the strength of multiple entities with the most powerful cryptographic technologies available.
"Businesses are so focused on protecting their data and the identity of their users that they are not doing enough to protect the very lifeblood of their organization — their money," said nsKnox CEO Nir Tenzer. "nsKnox is bringing corporate payment protection into the digital age, arming companies in the battle against payment fraud, manipulation and cybercrime. The backing of M12 and Viola Ventures is a tremendous vote of confidence in our ability to protect organizations worldwide and help them tackle this incredibly costly issue."
"We are committed to creating an impenetrable line of defense against corporate payment fraud," said nsKnox Founder & Executive Chairman Alon Cohen, who also founded and served as Chairman and CEO of CyberArk (NASDAQ:CYBR). "This financing round is a tremendous milestone, helping us realize our vision of protecting corporate payments with our entirely new Cooperative Cyber Security paradigm. The bad guys are working together – so should the good guys. That's what nsKnox is all about."
"As an early seed investor, we are excited to welcome M12 to the team backing nsKnox and proud to continue supporting this innovative FinSec company in its amazing journey," said Omry Ben David, Partner at Viola Ventures. "Their innovative distributed and cooperative approach addresses the massive problem of payment fraud by leveraging the independent security practices of multiple trusted entities, making it exponentially harder for hackers to infiltrate."
"The evolving nature of cybercrime creates a perpetual challenge for businesses to detect and mitigate fraudulent behavior, which costs corporations significant amounts of money every year," said Lior Litwak, Principal at M12. "nsKnox's corporate payment solution solves a critical business issue at scale, saving businesses the time, money and headache that result from fraudulent threats. We look forward to being a part of nsKnox's journey as they grow and expand."
nsKnox is forging partnerships with leading financial institutions worldwide with the aim of redefining the global standard for corporate payment cybersecurity. With this funding, nsKnox will focus on advancing its go-to-market strategy and enhancing its capabilities to ensure customer success globally.
About nsKnox
Founded in 2016 by Alon Cohen – founder and former Chairman and CEO of CyberArk (NASDAQ:CYBR) – nsKnox is a fintech-security (FinSec) company which invented the field of Cooperative Cyber Security (CCS) to offer a new approach to protecting corporate payment systems against insider threats, cyber-fraud, and data manipulation attempts. nsKnox's solution provides real-time verified payment protection and fraud detection, specifically designed to prevent financial losses due to fraudulent payments. nsKnox safeguards the payment process seamlessly across every point of the transaction journey, while enforcing payment policies and increasing Accounts Payable operational efficiency and Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance. nsKnox is based in Boston, MA and in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, visit https://nsknox.net/.
About M12
As the corporate venture arm for Microsoft, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures) invests in enterprise software companies in the Series A through C funding stage with a focus on big data & analytics, business SaaS, cloud infrastructure, machine learning & artificial intelligence, productivity and security. As part of its value-add to portfolio companies, M12 offers unique access to strategic go-to-market resources and relationships globally. The Company has offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, London and Tel Aviv.
About Viola Ventures
Viola Ventures is a venture capital firm, empowering early stage start-ups to become global category leaders. Founded in 2000, Viola Ventures manages over $1B across five funds, with leading investors from the US, Asia, Europe and Israel. It is managed by six investing partners, solely dedicated to early-stage tech investments, and has backed a substantial share of Israel's leading tech companies including ironSource, Payoneer, Redis Labs, Outbrain, Lightricks, Puls, Personetics and more. Viola Ventures is part of the Viola Group, Israel's leading technology-focused investment firm with over $3B in assets under management. The group has invested in over 200 technology companies.
About Discount Capital
Discount Capital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Discount Bank, and serves as the bank's investments & investment banking arm. With more than 25 years of operation, Discount Capital manages a broad investment portfolio, investing directly in companies and ventures as well as in investment funds. In the field of FinTech, Discount Capital actively invests in promising new ventures, with the goal of implementing innovative solutions and services at Discount Bank.
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