The CEO of a Berlin-based听secure messaging and collaboration platform says Brexit could pose a cybersecurity challenge for the UK.听
Morten Br酶gger鈥檚 Wire platform works with five of the G7 governments听as听well as the UK public sector.听It is targeting the UK government as a potential customer.听
In announcing听that the firm has raised a $21 million Series B funding round, led by VC firm UVC Partners, he听suggests that the UK鈥檚 exit from the EU may have left a security hole.听听
鈥�Geopolitically, the fact that the UK has left the EU means that lots of cybersecurity work that was previously done at a European-wide level amongst EU member states will need to be addressed by the UK directly,鈥� says听Br酶gger.听
鈥�As a result, we believe that Brexit means there will be a greater demand in the UK for solutions like ours and we are working to build up strong internal knowledge to support this.听
鈥淥ther nations are already protecting the national interest when it comes to data sovereignty, rising international espionage and the evolving threat of cybercrime collectively equates to a growing need for secure communication. We clearly see and expect the UK to follow that same path.听听听
鈥淲ire鈥檚 solution solves the generic problem of making collaboration secure and intuitive and the UK public sector, critical infrastructure and other highly regulated industries are primed for our offering.鈥�听
Developed with security听at the forefront, Wire’s platform offers messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing and external collaboration.听Its听annual revenue grew听three times听in 2020.听听
The funding will be used to support Wire’s international growth and enable the company to more aggressively take on the likes of Zoom, Slack and Microsoft Teams in the collaboration space.听
Also serving听customers in the听energy听and听financial services听sectors, in the UK听the firm听is focusing on听growth in听the public sector.听
鈥�We currently have UK customers across multiple industries, spanning the public sector, insurance, telecommunications and defence,鈥� continues听Br酶gger.听
鈥�We鈥檝e had some of these customers for multiple years, several have introduced new use cases in the last 12听months听and we鈥檝e also gained traction in multiple new areas.听听
鈥�Without disclosing specific targets, we see high-growth potential in the UK public sector specifically, which is where we will be focusing our UK sales efforts for the foreseeable future.鈥�
Wire will grow its 90+ team, based across its German HQ and offices in Switzerland and San Francisco, with the funding.