Dutch cybersecurity and insurance firm secures further €36m funding

Eye Security, the fast-growing Netherlands based cybersecurity and insurance firm, has announced a further €36m Series B investment led by J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and TIN Capital. The firm, which offers mid-market focused cyber cover in the Netherlands, Belgian and Germany through Eye Underwriting, said that the funding round marks a “new chapter in Eye Security's mission to protect businesses across Europe”. The company is looking to expand across more European countries. Founded in 2020 by a team of Dutch intelligence and security services experts who formerly worked for the Dutch government, Eye Security has experienced rapid growth and now boasts a team of over 100 professionals across three countries. The group launched its underwriting arm – Eye Underwriting – in March. It claims it is the first company in Europe to make every organisation insurable for cyber incidents. “Their risk remains manageable by linking cyber insurance to the Eye Cyber Guard security solution. In doing so, Eye Underwriting goes right against the current trend where, due to the massive increase in cyberattacks, many insurers consider the risk too great to continue insuring companies against damage caused by cyber incidents. We are reversing the trend with our innovative insurance product,” the group said. The firm’s commitment to its insurance offering and expanding further into Germany – backed by Lloyd’s syndicates Hiscox and Chubb – was underlined with the appointment of Christopher Lohmann, former senior executive with HDI, Allianz and Gothaer, as a non-executive board member shortly before launch. As the latest funding was revealed, Job Kuijpers, CEO of Eye Security, said: “Our journey began with a vision to tackle the escalating cyber risks that businesses face daily. We’re excited to extend our mission across Europe, giving our customers and strategic partners the reassurance that comes with knowing they’re partnering with a leader in cybersecurity and insurance.” With this new round of funding, Eye Security plans to deepen its presence in existing markets, while also expanding across select European countries in 2024. Eye Security said it is well positioned to capitalise on the upcoming tailwinds generated by the EU’s NIS2 Directive. EU member states must transpose NIS2 into their country’s national cybersecurity legislation by 17 October. “The directive creates stringent cybersecurity breach reporting timelines for companies to their respective government authority. Failure to comply may result in fines of up to €10M or 2% of the total annual worldwide sales in the company’s previous fiscal year. Regulatory agencies and consulting firms recommend companies strengthen their cybersecurity posture by creating incident-handling procedures, employee awareness training, etc,” commented Eye Security. Kuijpers said businesses frequently struggle to find reliable cyber insurance. “Eye Security tackles this challenge directly. We've developed a scalable platform that not only strengthens a business’s defences against cyber threats but also quickly delivers insurance coverage. Our comprehensive approach means our customers are fully protected against cyber risk,” he said. “Eye Security fills a critical gap in providing advanced cybersecurity and insurance coverage at an accessible price point to mid-market companies. Non-enterprise companies continue to be disproportionality impacted and lack the necessary incident response capabilities,” added Topher Dawe, managing partner at J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners. “When contextualised with the upcoming European Union NIS2 directive and a continued cybersecurity talent shortage, we believe Eye Security is well positioned to help address this gap. We are excited to partner with the Eye and support the company’s mission,” he added.

Dutch cybersecurity and insurance firm secures further €36m funding

NIS2 directive will help drive huge demand, predicts Eye Security

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