Claudette McGowan Raises $7.2M For AI-Powered Cybersecurity Firm, The Largest Amount Raised By A Sole Black Woman Founder In Canada

Claudette McGowan has raised significant funding to address cybersecurity concerns.

Protexxa

McGowan founded Protexxa, a Canada-based cybersecurity firm launched in 2021. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help companies and individuals resolve cyber issues or attacks faster. Examples of this include detecting exposed passwords, taking down online images, and developing response plans for customers in the event of an attack, a press release mentioned.

With human error accounting for 90% of cyber attacks, the company’s solutions focus on improving personal cybersecurity hygiene to reduce business risk, per the press release.

“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,” McGowan told TechCrunch. “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,” she continued. “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.”

New Capital

Protexxa is looking to scale its solutions and has closed a $7.2 million (10 million Canadian dollars) Series A raise. This marks the largest amount raised by a sole Black woman founder in Canada and brings its total funding raise to $12.2 million (15 million Canadian dollars), per the press release.

Investors in the round include Bell Ventures, Bell Canada, and Sandpiper Ventures. Existing shareholders Export Development Canada, BKR Capital, The Firehood Angels, and Graphite Ventures also supported the round. Other investors included Global Risk Institute President and CEO Sonia Baxendale, Tricon and Cidel Co-founder Geoffrey Matus, former Home Depot Canada CEO and current NRStor CEO Annette Verschuren, and Ralph Lean, business lawyer and distinguished counsel in residence at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The funding will support the firm’s improvements in engineering and data science and expand its sales and marketing team globally.

“People are at the core of any company’s success but it is also through people that hackers find their way into corporations. We invested in Protexxa because it is not a band-aid solution,” BKR Managing Partner Lise Birikundavyi explained, according to TechCrunch. “The main product, Defender, focuses on the root cause of any company’s vulnerability — the cyber hygiene of employees — and delivers solutions that support individuals and protect employers. This mission and the team at Protexxa are extremely impressive, and we are glad to be part of their journey.”

TechCrunch reported that over one billion stolen records have occurred in the United States due to data breaches. Adding insult to injury, resolving the attack can be costly for companies, with that amount projected to cost trillions of dollars in the near future.

“When it comes to cybercrime, most leaders think they’re outnumbered, underfunded, and ill-prepared,” McGowan said, per the press release. “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.”