Black Canadian founder Claudette McGowan has made history with the close of $7.2 million (CA$10 million) Series A for her AI-Powered cybersecurity firm Protexxa. She now holds the record for the largest amount raised by a sole black woman founder in Canadian history. McGowan raised $5 million of seed funding in 2022, making her one of the most successful VC-backed female founders in North America.
“When it comes to cybercrime, most leaders think they’re outnumbered, underfunded, and ill-prepared. The fastest way to change that narrative is to activate their greatest strength: people. Protexxa prioritizes people through assessments and training that improve cyber hygiene and create more secure organizations,” McGowan explained the importance of Protexxa’s solutions.
McGowan has spent her entire career working in the tech industry. She started as a technology manager at Deloitte, rising to chief information officer at BMO Financial Group, and later a global cybersecurity executive at TD Bank. While building her corporate career, McGowan was also running her non profit, The Firehood, to give opportunities to women in technology. She built strong relationships in the banking industry, enabling her to raise funding for her startup.
While working across a variety of sectors, McGowan realised that information security played an integral role. She was responsible for over 200,000 devices, laptops, servers, smartphones, printers that all needed to be connected and protected in one of her last roles. The rapid rise in cyberattacks and the increased fears about cybersecurity prompted her to found Protexxa to address cybersecurity concerns. Data breaches have reportedly caused more than 1 billion in stolen records in the U.S. and are projected to cost trillions of dollars in coming
“People aren’t prepared for the reality of this risk, plus AI is helping attackers to scale, every device is connected, and there’s a shortage in cybersecurity talent to help reduce these risks. Using simple passwords, not using MFA [multi-factor authentication], ignoring privacy settings or over-sharing are all ways humans play a role in making it too easy for cybercriminals. Cybercriminals are using AI to scale attacks such as phishing emails and injecting malware. We are also seeing impersonations through deep fake images and videos,” McGowan said about the growing need for cybersecurity.
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With the advent of AI, cybercriminals are using the technology to increase the volume and depth of their attacks. Protexxa is responding in kind with AI powered software designed to help companies and individuals resolve cyber issues or attacks faster. The platform detects exposed passwords, quickly finds and takes down online images, and develops response plans for customers in the event of an attack.
Protexxa’s solutions focus on improving personal cybersecurity hygiene to reduce business risk since human error accounts for 90% of cyber attacks. The company’s AI-powered platform, Protexxa Defender, identifies, evaluates, and resolves the human elements that make companies vulnerable to cyber attacks. It delivers long-term solutions that support individuals and protect employers to protect the cyber hygiene of employees.
The funding will enable Protexxa to make improvements in engineering and data science and expand its sales and marketing team globally. McGowan and her firm are now poised to make an impact on the staggering $1.5 trillion cybersecurity market.
