Tech startup Increase Your Skills has announced the closing of a 7-figure pre-Series A funding round. Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH leads the financing round. In addition, existing investors have also committed to another round of investment to ensure the company’s growth.

Cybersecurity awareness and data protection specialists, Increase Your Skills, have announced the securing of a 7-figure pre-Series A funding round. The funding round has come from its current pool of investors, with additional funding from a new investor, Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH. With this latest round of funding secured, the company can continue its growth.

Since its creation in 2017, Increase Your Skills has been succeeding in its goal of producing and expanding its range of in-house developed cybersecurity awareness courses, with a particular focus on information security and data protection. The recent release of the company’s phishing attack simulation tool complements the current range of awareness courses. It offers users an extra level of awareness training by conducting simulation tests in real-time.

The company welcomes its newest investor, Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH – the venture company of the Montan-Stiftung-Saar trust – whose investment interests have focused on developing emerging tech startup companies. The investment firm recognises the essential need for security awareness training throughout all business sectors, with the new partnership affirming their belief in the potential for Increase Your Skills to secure a dominant position in the domestic and international market.

“With our investment in Increase Your Skills, we are consequently continuing the digitalisation strategy of the Saarland steel industry with the two companies Dillinger and Saarstahl,” said Reinhard Störmer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Montan-Stiftung-Saar. “We look forward to further developing the startup together with the existing investors and will also integrate the services of Increase Your Skills into our companies.”

Furthermore, Increase Your Skills has convinced Dr Frank Stummer again to take part in the recent investment round, whose company Digital Forensics has been at the forefront of network traffic analysis and copyright protection investigation. Dr Stummer has praised the significant development that Increase Your Skills has made since its inception three years ago and voiced his confidence in its ability to reach its long-term goals.

“I am glad to be able to support the company’s very positive development so far in the next phase with my recent investment, and also by continuing to actively advise the management team,” said Dr Stummer.

This most recent investment will take the company to the next level and help pursue becoming market leaders within Europe. This funding will enable the company to develop new features across its awareness platform and add new awareness tools to its growing portfolio. To achieve these goals, the company will also utilise some of the investment to add to its growing talent pool, preparing the company to take the next big step into the international market.

Alongside this new round of investment will come the establishing of an advisory board that will allow the company to utilise the continued growth of specialist knowledge and vast experience, further contributing to its future successes.

“We are delighted to welcome Montan-Ventures-Saar GmbH to our growing list of investors and thank them for their confidence in what we as a company are trying to achieve,” said Carolin Andree. “Dr Stummer has been with us on our journey from the beginning and has continually supported our development with his expertise and with unrelenting confidence in our abilities,” continued Hannes Hartung. Both co-founders were eager to thank all investors and expressed their excitement as the company continues its growth into the future.

Company Profile

Increase Your Skills GmbH is a Germany based cybersecurity awareness company offering a full-service awareness platform relating to information security, cybersecurity and data protection. Established in 2017, they have quickly become a key player in their domestic market, ranking one of the top 100 fastest growing startups in Germany in 2020. The company provides informative and engaging awareness courses to educate companies and their employees on preventing, detecting and responding to cyberattacks.

For more information about the services available or to discuss your company's requirements with a specialist, please visit increaseyourskills.com; email info@increaseyourskills.com; or call +49 341 249 116 71.