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CultureAI raises $10 million in Series A funding to revolutionise human risk management

July 17, 2024

CultureAI secures $10 million in Series A funding to revolutionise human risk management with its data-driven platform, aiming to reduce cyber risk through real-time interventions and automated solutions.

Leading Human Risk Management Platform, CultureAI, has announced the closure of a $10 million Series A funding round, co-led by Mercia Ventures and Smedvig Ventures, with continued support from existing investors Passion Capital and Senovo.

Forrester predicts that 90% of data breaches in 2024 will involve human error, highlighting the limitations of traditional security awareness and training programmes. CultureAI takes a data-driven approach to tackling this issue, enabling organisations to monitor, reduce, and fix human cyber risk. Their innovative Human Risk Management Platform allows organisations to identify workforce security risks, coach employees in real-time, and automate solutions.

Following seed rounds of $4 million in 2021 and $5 million in 2023, CultureAI has experienced rapid growth, securing clients such as Revolut, RAC, Wickes, Delivery Hero, ClearBank, and Marie Curie. This latest investment will support the company’s mission to evolve how organisations detect and manage cyber risks, driven by the widespread adoption of SaaS apps, collaboration tools, and generative AI.

CultureAI aims to create a world where human error no longer leads to security breaches. To achieve this vision, the company plans to significantly invest in product development and expand its team, aiming to double headcount over the next year. Additionally, CultureAI intends to enhance its market presence in the US.

James Moore, founder and CEO of CultureAI, said: “Imagine having a team of thousands who deeply understand your business and its employees. If this team could review, understand, and fix risks generated by each employee at the source, breaches could be reduced by around 80%. While it’s impractical to build such a team, we can emulate its effectiveness using intelligent technology.”

“Addressing human risk is crucial for cyber security. Every day, 1 in 4 employees create cyber risks as they go about their jobs, from reusing passwords across shadow SaaS apps to oversharing intellectual property with AI tools. We’re all human and make mistakes. However, just doing more security awareness training won’t solve this—we can’t out-train human error. That’s why we’re focused on creating a platform which detects and automatically fixes the full spectrum of workforce cyber risks through interventions and nudges.”

Adam Lovell, Investor at Mercia Ventures, commented: “CultureAI is at the forefront of developments in the emerging field of human risk management. With a deep understanding of the challenges that companies face, James and his team have developed a holistic solution that can secure businesses against a wide range of cyber threats. We believe the company is poised to achieve break-out growth. The funding will help it to further target a global audience and establish itself as a market leader.”

Joe Knowles, Partner at Smedvig Ventures, added: “It is widely accepted that human error is the most prevalent vector for cyber-attacks and is poorly protected against by ineffective training programmes. Advanced analytics applied to real-time behavioural data presents an original approach for CISOs to control human cyber risk. CultureAI is pioneering this with its market-leading software, offering immediate visibility and mitigation of vulnerabilities. James has an incredible reputation as a thought leader in the space and we are excited to partner with him and his team alongside Mercia Ventures.”

Aaron Paddison, Associate Director – Cyber Security at Peninsula Group, discussed the value CultureAI brings to their organisation: “We recognised blanket training was having very little real impact when it came to improving employee security behaviours and we wanted a more targeted solution. CultureAI has been a game-changer for us in terms of understanding what our people are doing. Rather than relying on training modules, which people immediately forget, we can intervene as and when a risk is occurring.”