Cybersecurity startup 1Kosmos raises $57M in Series B round

Cybersecurity startup 1Kosmos founded by Hemen Vimadalal has raised $57 million in a Series B round of funding led by Forgepoint Capital, and Origami’s Oquirrh Ventures.

The round, which also includes a $10 million line of credit from Bridge Bank also saw the participation of Craig Abod, Founder and President of Carahsoft, NextEra Energy Ventures, Gula Tech Adventures, and the 1Kosmos management team.

Before this round, 1Kosmos had raised $15 million in a Series A round in 2021.

1Kosmos founder & CEO Hemen Vimadalal said the fresh round of funding will be used for three segments of the company - go to market, R&D and hiring.

This cybersecurity startup has got its presence in North America and Asia-Pacific markets and aims to double down in these two regions going forward. This will also include opening offices in the Middle East and with a big thrust on the India market.

According to the CEO, 1Kosmos will be using one-third of the fresh funds raised towards R&D activity which will mean adding artificial intelligence (AI) capability to all its products. This startup also plans to use the funding for talent acquisition and skill development.

1Kosmos’ product platform focuses on passwordless authentication and it does so through live biometrics, verified identity, and phishing-resistant, passwordless authentication.

“Identity has become the first step in the kill chain. This investment allows us to strengthen the proactive controls organizations need to prevent impersonation-based attacks—whether it’s a sophisticated hacking group or a state-sponsored developer hiding in plain sight,” said Vimadalal.

The nature of cyberattacks has changed with the advent of AI, which has unleashed new kinds of threats like impersonation of voice and even faces.

This has opened newer market opportunities for 1Kosmos and the CEO remarked that it has tripled its business year–on-year over the last two years and expects this momentum to continue.

“We are solving the problems of cybersecurity and user experience,” said Vimadalal.

1Kosmos has clients from financial services, telecom, retail, and healthcare.