Vicarius which helps to identify software threats accomplished $ 5 million Seed fundraising

The Vicarius startup, which has developed a technology platform to help corporations identify and deal with software threats and weaknesses, has completed a $ 5 million Seed fundraising round. The capital raised will accelerate the company's international growth and expand its operations in the international arena. The investment was led by the Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) fund, with the participation of Innogy Innovation Hub and Goldbell Investments.
Established in 2016 by Michael Asraf, Roy Cohen and Yossi Zeevi, Vicarius aims to change the way organizations manage and secure software. The company has developed an overall application security platform that offers customers proactive strategies to reduce real-time software-based attacks. Vicarius' technology investigates cyber attacks frequently, and by using machine learning and binary analysis, they are able to detect weaknesses even before they become such and become offensive tools.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that 90 percent of reported security incidents are caused by exploits of the software's code or development process. In 2019 alone, more than 17,000 software-based attacks were up nearly 300% from the previous decade.
Michael Asraf, CEO and Co-Founder of Vicarius, commented: "Vicarius detects risks based on live attack scenarios. Our algorithm is constantly learning new attacks to detect and characterize malicious techniques independently. A defensive response includes whether by installing Security Patch, and for the first time even without the software protection technology we have developed (Patchless App Protection) that enables organizations to secure software without making any changes or upgrades, thus saving our customers the risks of restarting The position or affirmative change as well as Mac Rim the time required for closing security holes. We set the goal to change the existing product market in this area, which maps known weaknesses (CVE) a reactive way. In reality each month revealed that more than 1,000 new vulnerabilities, this process becomes effective. "
Despite the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, little has changed in recent years in terms of identifying weaknesses, installing security patches and upgrading systems used by the organization. Now, Vicarius technology provides organizations with an end-to-end solution for identifying, prioritizing and protecting software whether or not the manufacturer intervenes. The money raised by the company will allow it to enter new markets in a greater number of sectors. In addition, in addition to its Jerusalem office, the company will open offices in Tel Aviv and New York. Vicarius' team will operate at the recently launched JVP International Cyber ​​Center in Soho, Manhattan, in cooperation with the City of New York, as part of the city's transformation into an international cyber security superpower.
According to Gadi Porat, a partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, who joined Vicarius's board during this round of funding. Said: "Vicarius-based machine learning platform protects against undetected software weaknesses through a multi-step solution that detects security breaches, prioritizes threats and protects systems. The new approach protects any software without involving the manufacturer or the computer teams. A decade of few breakthroughs in this area, Vicarius offers a pioneering solution for identifying and managing and forecasting software weaknesses in a fast, efficient and cost-effective way. We are pleased to be part of this investment. "
Mickey Steiner, who runs Innogy Innovation Hub operations in Israel, said, "We are pleased to announce our investment in Vicarius. We have been impressed by the team members and the sophistication of the technology offered by the company. The technology in question has the potential to protect data integrity in a large number of industries and is of strategic importance As systems become more dependent on software, and complex and distributed energy paradigms connected to the Internet of Things, security systems such as Vicarius, capable of expanding into diverse infrastructures and expanding networks, create the next generation of cyber security. "
Vicarius is the first company in the world to identify and protect against software-based weaknesses before they are hacked. The system exposes known and unrecognized threats, prioritizes them according to their business context and automatically protects the software with or without installing security patches. Given the increasing cyber risks, companies have no control over software weaknesses they purchase. Vicarius' approach to application protection is an innovative way to secure software without the need for its source code, patch installation or software manufacturer involvement. Vicarius was founded in 2016 by three Israeli entrepreneurs from the information security industry and is located in the JVP media district in Jerusalem.
innogy Innovation Hub is the investment arm of Innogy SE - the largest European energy company in Europe, operating in 13 countries with 23 million customers. Innogy Innovation Hub was established in 2015 with the goal of investing and collaborating with innovative start-ups that create new realities in areas that we believe we will operate in for the next 5-3 years. The foundation is active in Silicon Valley, London, Berlin, Warsaw and Tel Aviv. The fund acts as a strategic investor and has already invested in some 80 start-ups around the world (Seed and beyond). The fund's total investment capital stood at around € 160 million at the end of 2018. In Israel, the company has been operating for about two years and has already made 11 investments, with a total value of $ 11 million, mainly in the fields of cyber, construction tech and future energy systems. The fund invests in each company between $ 1 million and $ 2 million, when it comes to early-stage companies, and $ 3-5 million in rounds A and B.
The JVP Foundation is a leading international foundation that is at the forefront of international technological innovation. Since its founding in 1993 by the fund's chairman, Dr. Arel Margalit, it has raised close to $ 1.4 billion and has invested in more than 140 companies in a variety of fields including high-tech, cleantech and agriculture.

Over the years, JVP has led dozens of exits, 12 NASDAQ offerings, and a large number of industry sales. JVP invests in early stage companies as well as mature companies in the fields of cyber security, artificial intelligence, Big Data, FinTech, Storage, Mobile, Media and the Internet of Things. Among the major companies JVP led: CyberArk ($ 5 billion market cap), QLIKTECH ($ 4 billion market cap), Cogent ($ 3 billion market cap) including large companies such as Chromatis (4.9 billion) and Netro (5.5 billion).