Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Blackpanda has raised US$15 million in its Series A funding round co-led by Primavera Venture Partners and Gaw Capital Partners. The round will fund the expansion of its technology enabled cybersecurity services, including digital forensics and incident response. The company will further develop its underlying Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) & Machine Learning (“ML”) cybersecurity insurtech platform. With offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, and San Francisco, Blackpanda plans to deepen its presence across Asia. Another investor includes San Francisco based WI Harper.
Investment firms and strategic partners Primavera and Gaw manage over US$55 billion in AUM combined. Among their institutional investor base include over half of the top twenty largest listed insurance companies globally. Primavera’s founder previously sat on the Lloyd’s of London board, the Council of Lloyd’s.
Blackpanda Group CEO Gene Yu founded the company with Matt Pecot and Kevin McCaffrey, all three having served in the US Army Special Forces. Yu is a computer science honours graduate from West Point and has worked at Palantir and Credit Suisse in Asia. Matt Pecot was previously Head of Markets for Asia Pacific at Barclays.
Gene Yu explained, “Cyber-crime caused a staggering US$1 trillion plus in losses in 2020 and is rapidly climbing in Asia. Nearly half of all Singapore businesses suffered a cyber-attack in 2021. The first step to cybersecurity is to make sure a response-based plan is in place prior to a sudden hack. A business owner wouldn’t open a physical office without any access to firefighters. Yet chances of a fire are only 1 out of 2000 for businesses, while a cyber-attack is an incredible 1 out of 5.”
Philip Hu, Founding Member and Managing Director of Primavera said, “Cybersecurity and cyber insurance are environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. Cyberattacks present a huge risk to the value of companies and ultimately the stability of society. Blackpanda is leading the charge in Asia to help companies, in particular the largely underserved SME market, manage cybersecurity and cyber insurance as part of their ESG strategy.”
