For XAnge, the decision to reinvest in Dattak was a no-brainer. As we explained back in June, cyber-risk is one of the hottest topics of the moment. It is of particular concern to SMEs, which are highly vulnerable targets, even if they are less lucrative for pirates than large corporations. Nearly 67% of SMEs say they have already suffered an incident related to malware. Worst, 50% of SMEs blocked for several weeks following a cyber attack go bankrupt within 6 months!
Of course, since Dattak’s first round of funding in June 2022, the macroeconomic context has changed a lot: the capital that was once abundant for startups has become scarcer. But as investors, we need to have a long-term horizon. We do not change our core beliefs in response to short-term market trends.
That’s also the reason why Dattak is far from being our only investment in this area: Saporo, a Lausanne-based startup aiming at making cyber resistance accessible, joined our portfolio last December and you can expect more deals to come…
In Europe, the field is already booming, with startups like Eye Security (which raised 17M€ last November from Bessemer Venture Partners) or Stoik (11M€ in June 2022), but we believe that Dattak is uniquely positioned to take the lead in this market.
Indeed, Benoît Grouchko, Charlotte Couallier and their team already made significant progress since their seed round. They have done a fantastic job, both on the sales side and on the execution side. Well done!
There is no doubt that the experience of Benoit, a seasoned entrepreneur who had already been through some turbulent times, has helped. With cyber-risk becoming an increasingly pressing concern for SMEs, we are confident that Dattak is uniquely positioned to take the lead in the market and deliver the solutions that these businesses need. More than ever, XAnge is present for the good projects positioned in promising markets, led by convincing founders.
