Investors back ‘world-class business of tomorrow’ responding to global threat
A University of Leeds spin-out that believes it can address a global cybersecurity threat has been backed by Foresight and Northern Gritstone in a £2.2m seed round.
Cavero Quantum is commercialising the work of Prof Ben Varcoe and Dr Frey Wilson from the University of Leeds’ quantum physics team.
The growth capital investment sees entrepreneur James Trenholme join the business as chief executive and Andrew Wallace has become chair.
Duncan Johnson, chief executive at Northern Gritstone, added: “Cavero Quantum’s technology is applicable today and has the potential to allow individuals, businesses and nations to function safely in a post-quantum world.
“Spun out of the University of Leeds’ innovation ecosystem, one of Northern Gritstone’s university partners, Cavero Quantum is an example of a world-class business of tomorrow built on the amazing science and technology that exists in the North of England today.”
Cavero has developed a quantum passwordless secure cryptography technology. It could replace the current system of
It is a response to the challenge of progress in quantum computing which, in essence, is expected to make it much easier in the future for online systems such as banks, utilities infrastructure and defence systems to be hacked.
Cavero’s technology has immediate applications due to its passwordless support and dual authentication nature. It has the potential to disrupt the authentication market, which is forecast to be valued at £17bn in 2027.
Richard Ralph, investment manager at Foresight, said: “Whilst Cavero Quantum’s technology is potentially revolutionary to quantum cryptography, it offers the potential for immediate improvements on
existing cryptographic approaches due to its dual authentication and passwordless nature, thereby providing improved security against existing cyber attacks.”
Prof Varcoe will support Cavero Quantum alongside his existing role as Professor of Quantum Information Science at the University of Leeds, while Dr Wilson will become chief technology officer.
Trenholme, chief executive at Cavero Quantum, said: “The technology that Ben, Frey and the experimental quantum science team at the University of Leeds have built really is ground-breaking technology.
“It’s the first solution in the world that can replace security standards like ECDH without compromising on architecture and customer experience, keeping data safe for the future as Quantum computing becomes the norm.”
TheBusinessDesk.com’s specialist corporate finance platform, Rainmakers, has exclusive interviews and insights from key players in the Cavero investment.
Rainmakers launched earlier this year and it has established itself as the must-read publication for everyone who wants to get a better understanding of what is happening right now.
