Walmart, Softbank, Airbus, Microsoft, Moody's, Barclays, Dimension Data, Munich Re, Scotiabank, Nokia and Cisco Form Strategic Coalition Led by Team8

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NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Team8, a leading think tank and company creation platform specializing in cyber resilience and data science, today announced the launch of an international coalition incorporating Walmart, Airbus, Softbank, Moody's, Dimension Data, Munich Re, Scotiabank and Barclays. Team8's existing investors, including M-12, Microsoft's venture-capital arm, Cisco Investments, Nokia, Bessemer Venture Partners, Temasek and Innovation Endeavors have also joined the coalition. By bringing together leaders in finance, technology, retail, aerospace, risk and insurance, the coalition aims to build technology companies to create secure and agile environments that empower enterprises to realize the true benefits of digital transformation and leverage data to create real business impact.  

The coalition formed with this unprecedented approach after respective member organizations concluded that the formidable threat posed by cyber crime inhibits enterprises' ability to maximize digital transformation opportunities due to inherent risks. Rather than simply viewing cybersecurity as a necessity, the Coalition will unlock its value through rethinking enterprise infrastructure, enabling new growth opportunities through infrastructure for networks, the Cloud, data and computing.

The Coalition's "Thrive by Security" approach focuses on three areas:

1.    Cyber as a catalyst for growth instead of as a defense mechanism

2.    Infrastructure that is resilient by design rather than requiring additional layers of security

3.    Data Science as a prime enabler of business growth if utmost security is built-in to the infrastructure

The Coalition members have secured $85M in capital to fund and build a series of companies that accelerate secure digital transformation through Team8's company-building model, driven by its dedicated team of researchers, scientists, engineers and analysts. Chief Information, Technology, Data and Security Officers from each of the member organizations will work together with Team8's research, recruiting and business development teams to identify problems, ideate on disruptive solutions, validate technology, hire talent and plan go-to-market approaches. The committed $85 million will be invested at seed-level into each of the solutions, resulting in independently operating companies with shared ownership by the investors.

"The commitment from our new partners illustrates the significance of our work to galvanize digital transformation across all industries," says Team8 CEO Nadav Zafrir. "The synergy and insight from leaders in retail, aerospace, insurance, financial services and technology combined with our unrivalled cyber and data expertise at Team8 will enable companies to adopt new data-driven methods of working, ensuring they can retain their competitive advantage and thrive, in spite of cyber threats."

"Rogue states, hackers, terrorists and criminals are intent on wreaking physical, financial and societal havoc and catastrophic damage on governments, corporations and individuals," said Eric Schmidt, Founding Partner of Innovation Endeavors, a lead investor in the Team8 Coalition. "As data continues to proliferate and our technical capabilities expand, cyber attacks and wars will increase in number and intensity. Team8 has gathered the brightest minds from Israel and around the world to drive its think tank, industry coalition and innovation foundry. We, at Innovation Endeavors, are proud to partner with Team8 as it expands beyond cyber to solve imminent threats around data sharing, collaboration and machine learning."

"Walmart's readiness to experiment with and adopt emerging technologies such as blockchain, VR and robotics is pivotal to continually improve our customer shopping experience, stay ahead of the curve and drive market share," said Jerry Geisler, Walmart's Chief Information Security Officer. "Our digital transformation is underpinned by more connectivity than ever before. We're joining Team8's coalition because of their cybersecurity expertise, proven ability to integrate their viewpoints into leading technology solutions and unique access to insights from other sectors."

"The power of data collaboration and analytics is core to the future of Airbus as it enhances our operations across the board. Therefore, the production of our assets and executing our operations in the most secure way possible plays a decisive and ever-increasing role for us," says Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space. "In order to swiftly and securely identify, build and integrate new technologies into our business, we believe combining our expertise with that of Team8's cyber veterans and world-leading business and technology companies that form the Coalition is the optimal route. Each perspective brings a unique vantage point from hardware, software, networking, communications and overall experience of business decision-making."

"As the digital threat landscape is constantly evolving, we're rethinking insurance with smarter use of our data and collaboration for better assessment, comprehensive service offering and tailored product design," says Torsten Jeworrek, Member of Munich Re's Board of Management. "We're looking forward to fusing our own long-standing expertise in insurance and risk assessment with the unmatched security and data intelligence foundation from Team8 to tackle cyber related risks. Together, we will expand the limits of insurability and enable our clients to deal with one of the most pressing challenges of the interconnected economy."

"Safeguarding and accelerating the transition to the cloud as well as integrating advanced capabilities in security and data science into our platforms and services, is a top priority for Microsoft," said Mony Hassid, general manager and managing director of EMEA at M12. "Team8's powerhouse of security veterans and data scientists will bring innovative solutions to the market that will help organizations as they pursue their digital transformation initiatives."

"Cybersecurity can often be an afterthought; with digitalisation, our clients must now be secure by design," said Matthew Gyde, Group Executive – Security, Dimension Data.

"Team8 is managed by global pioneers in the global cybersecurity space and we've already experienced swift traction with two of their portfolio companies' technologies in the market. We feel confident that investing in Team8 will ultimately shape the future of enterprise security technology / cybersecurity and the capabilities that align to the current and future needs of our clients.  

"We are pleased to partner with Team8 to accelerate the development of innovative approaches to cybersecurity that can help unlock the full potential of digital transformation," said Derek Vadala, Global Head of Cyber Risk for Moody's Investors Service (MIS). "Moody's has a unique perspective on the importance of cybersecurity to the capital markets and its increasing impact on the health and resilience of businesses globally.  We look forward to engaging with business, technology and security leaders as part of Team8's network to help the market better quantify cyber risk and build a secure and growing digital future.

"Cybersecurity has been a focus topic for years and will only become increasingly important in future society," said Ben Davey, CEO of Barclays UK Ventures. "We've been incredibly impressed by Team8's approach and track record in this area, and feel they are the ideal partner to help think through some of the challenges and opportunities we all face. We're excited to play our part in developing cyber as a catalyst for growth, ultimately for the benefit of consumers and businesses."

Marcus Weldon, CTO Nokia & President, Bell Labs said, "The next digital era will be defined by the evolution of IoT, matched by a surge in digital information analysis centered around a convergence of consumer and enterprise data. It is imperative that a set of standard, scalable, value-added technologies are developed to serve these needs. The pace of Team8's agile company-building model and pre-market validation of their forward-thinking solutions is unrivalled and our continued partnership will enable us to stay a step ahead in this new era of connectivity, be it in digital healthcare or sensor-related infrastructure."

"At Scotiabank, the trust we have earned from our customers over 186 years in business is our most valuable asset," said Michael Zerbs, Group Head and CTO, Scotiabank. "We work constantly with regulators, governments and other stakeholders to protect the security of our customers and the bank. Participating in Team8's new security partnership is an important part of Scotiabank's ongoing work to build advanced, resilient security into our digital transformation."

Last week, Team8 announced that former NSA Director, Admiral Mike Rogers is joining its Board of Advisors. The company creation platform also announced the acquisition of its first portfolio company Sygnia by Temasek, the global investment company headquartered in Singapore, for $250 million.

Team8 was founded by former leaders of Israel's military intelligence Unit 8200 including former Commander, Brig. Gen Nadav Zafrir, along with Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg. The leadership team also includes Executive Chairman serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Yuval Shachar, Assaf Mischari, former technology leader in Unit 8200, and Lluís Pedragosa, former Partner at Marker LLC.

To date, Team8 has launched four disruptive companies, with four more operating in stealth mode, each with an innovative approach for organizations to build resilience against cyber warfare and that today protect dozens of Fortune 100, 500 and other leading companies. Including the new $85M investment, the group has raised more than $260M to date and employs more than 370 people worldwide.

About Team8

Team8 is a leading think tank and company creation platform specializing in cyber resilience and data analytics. Leveraging the expertise of former leaders from Israel's elite military intelligence Unit 8200, Team8 is supported by an in-house team of top researchers, engineers and analysts. Team8 combines its in-depth understanding of the attacker perspective, data science AI to develop disruptive technologies and category-leading companies that enable businesses to reap the benefits of digital transformation in an agile and secure manner. Team8 is backed by some of the world's most renowned businesses including Cisco, Microsoft, AT&T, Walmart, Airbus, Softbank, Accenture, Qualcomm, Moody's, Munich-Re, Dimension Data, Nokia and Scotiabank. For more information, please visit www.team8.vc.

Media Contact:

Diane Mckaye
Silicon Valley Communications
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SOURCE Team8

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