In a fundraising round headed by L2 Point Management, SimSpace, a business that builds virtual versions of companies’ networking and technology stacks for cybersecurity training, has raised $45 million.
The investment, which brings the company’s total capital to $70 million, comes at a fortunate moment for SimSpace, which, up until around two years ago, was entirely bootstrapped.
William Hutchison, co-founder and CEO of SimSpace, says the company is on track to meet its annual recurring revenue target of $50 million by the end of the 2023 fiscal year. Additionally, it is growing the list of private sector clients it serves by strengthening agreements with the FBI, national cyber defense teams in unidentified U.S. allies, and U.S. Cyber Command.
According to Hutchison, “Four of the top five U.S. banks and U.S. Cyber Command operators received training from SimSpace, which the U.S. Department of Defense selected.” “Over the last two years, our firm has faced challenges in addressing its growing client base while operating in one of the most challenging financing conditions in recent memory. We’ve had to endure hardship and make difficult choices.
The roots of SimSpace may be found in U.S. Cyber Command, where Hutchison used tech staffer Lee Rossey at MIT’s Lincoln Lab to help create and oversee the joint tactical cyber training exercise known as Cyber Flag. Rossey was developing cyber “training ranges” to mimic IT production settings and vital business infrastructure.
To provide their cyber practice and testing technology, a cyberlearning curriculum, and an “attack library” to the commercial sector and other government entities, Hutchison and Rossey founded SimSpace in 2015.
“With SimSpace, it’s possible to ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at cyber teams without breaking anything in an actual production environment and disrupting vital operations because training takes place outside of a company’s network,” Hutchison added. Security teams may measure and adjust the efficacy, recall, and precision of security solutions thanks to SimSpace’s unique traffic-generation capabilities.
With this most recent investment, Hutchison stated SimSpace—which now employs just over 200 people—will be able to “row profitably” and “modestly” increase its workforce.
“SimSpace’s high-fidelity cyber ranges have gained significant traction with leading companies and national cyber defense organizations,” said Kerstin Dittmar, managing partner at L2 Point. With the help of this funding, SimSpace will be able to maintain its rapid growth and expand its military-grade skills as it caters to a clientele that is becoming increasingly sophisticated.
