UPTEC Startup raises €4M in investment to create AI-Powered hackbots
UPTEC Startup raises €4M in investment to create AI-Powered hackbots
ETHIACK, a startup incubated at UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, has completed a seed capital round of four million euros. With this capital, the company intends to launch the next generation of Automatic Continuous Pentesting technology through AI-Powered Hackbots and expand into new markets.
Founded in 2022 by André Baptista, Jorge Monteiro and Vitor Pinho, ETHIACK launched on the world market an innovative platform for continuous cybersecurity testing, which allows companies to identify vulnerabilities in real time in their digital assets.
With the capital round now announced, ETHIACK wants to launch the next generation of Automated Continuous Pentesting technology, using highly effective AI-Powered Hackbots to detect and report critical vulnerabilities, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which will be able to understand attack surfaces and how assets are related to each other, as well as explore complex attack vectors.
In practice, this is a technology that simulates the approach of an Ethical Hacker who will test digital assets, capable of protecting the Internet at scale. These AI-Powered Hackbots are the result of intense R&D work that ETHIACK has been developing and which will be launched soon.
ETHIACK will also accelerate its expansion into new markets, starting with the UK and Europe, but with an eye on the US and the Middle East.
The investment round saw the participation of Explorer Investments, the largest private equity fund in Portugal, CoreAngels, Paulo Marques (entrepreneur and investor), Startup Wise Guys, Aralab, Amena Ventures and Start Ventures.
Jorge Monteiro, CEO of ETHIACK, stresses the “importance of these partners who, with their experience, will help us grow and overcome the challenges of growth and internationalisation”.
In two years, the startup has achieved a turnover of one million euros, with a portfolio of over 50 clients in 9 countries and a team of more than 10 people. In addition, it has already been distinguished as WebSummit’s Most Promising Startup, received Portugal’s National Innovation Award and was selected for the Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Cybersecurity program, for offering an AI-based platform.
The CTO and co-founder of ETHIACK, André Baptista, also won the title of Most Valuable Hacker for the second time in 2024 and is now part of the select group of 5 hackers in the world who are proud to have won this title twice.
December 17, 2024