The Argentine cybersecurity and fraud prevention startup VU Security has raised a $12 million Series B round with participation from Globant, BID LAB, Telefonica, and its existing partners, Agrega Partners, and NXTP Ventures. The round also includes Bridge One, a Brazilian venture capital, and growth equity fund manager.
With the investment, VU Security begins operations in Brazil. “We are proud to have the support of Brazilian partners to consolidate our presence in Brazil,” said Sebastian Stranieri, CEO of VU Security, in a press release.
“It is important to find companies like Globant and Telefonica, who join Microsoft in our purpose of building a better world with technology, through secure and frictionless digital experiences,” he adds.
Focusing on the new concept of the “online person,” VU provides identity verification methods for its users by combining traditional cybersecurity controls with geolocation, biometrics, and machine learning-based user behavior analysis.
Founded 13 years ago, VU Security was the only Latin American partner chosen by Microsoft to be part of the launch of Decentralized Digital Identity, a global initiative to restore every citizen’s control over their digital identity.
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Over the past three years, VU has grown from 40 to more than 130 employees distributed between its headquarters in Buenos Aires and several cities in Argentina, Latin America, and Europe. In Brazil, the company plans to triple its staff by 2022 and grow 10 times from 2021 to 2024.
“We are excited to invest in VU. The company brings very effective solutions to the digital security market – a sector that is booming in Brazil, Latin America, and worldwide,” said João Brandão, partner and founder of Bridge One.
Since its formation, VU has reached more than 170 clients in 27 markets, as well as government entities in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic, among others. As a result, more than 350 million users use its technology.
With this investment, Globant, one of the four Argentine unicorns, reinforces that cybersecurity is a strategic initiative, an industry that is gaining new relevance thanks to the acceleration of the digital transformation forced by the pandemic.
“VU is changing the rules about the role of technology in our lives, based on the fact that it must adapt to humans and not otherwise, as we are used to,” said Guibert Englebienne, president of Globant Latam and cofounder of the company. “We have worked together for years and believe in the potential that VU solutions have as a complement to any business strategy to increase security and improve the end-user experience.”
