CrowdSec wants to halt ransomware and other cyber attacks by crowdsourcing defense. Here’s the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise $13.9 million.

• French startup CrowdSec has raised €14 million ($13.9 million) to tackle cyber crime.
• Its software platform crowdsources individuals and organizations work together to flag potential attacks.
• Check out the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise the funds in a Series A round.

French cybersecurity startup CrowdSec has raised €14 million ($13.9 million) in a Series A round as it looks to expand its transatlantic operations and address what it calls the “increasingly pervasive problem” of cybercrime. 

The Paris-based firm, launched in 2020 by a trio of cybersecurity experts, has developed a software platform for assessing cyber threats through what it calls a “collaborative intrusion prevention system.”

The technology leans on an open-source software solution that involves participation from a crowd of individuals and organizations to signal attacks, allowing them to then be filed into a database that acts as a critical resource detailing the IPs of malicious actors for blocking.

Cyber criminals often find ways of changing their IP addresses to launch new attacks, but CrowdSec’s platform aims to inform users of any new malicious attempts quickly, according to the firm.

The result, CrowdSec claims, is a “real-time, crowdsourced, threat intelligence system” that is able to counter everything from DDoS and ransomware attacks to troll farms and more across the globe. 

Philippe Humeau, CrowdSec CEO, described the idea at the heart of CrowdSec as “community action” — an idea that he sees as the future of an industry that has suffered from “isolated cybersecurity defenses.” 

“CrowdSec’s unique strength lies in numbers and in applying a concerted, global approach to a global problem,” he said. “Cybercriminals are outnumbered tens of thousands to one by legitimate internet users, all of whom can now join forces to protect themselves and each other.”

CrowdSec’s funding round — led by Supernova Invest, a Parisian deep tech investor, and VC firm Breega – comes as organizations globally have been forced to confront an increasingly dangerous cyber threat landscape since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware attacks have proven to be particularly debilitating, with critical infrastructure such as the Colonial Pipeline forced to halt operations as a result of an attack last year.

The startup said its software is currently used in 175 countries by the likes of governments, e-commerce firms, media and financial institutions. 

The startup said it plans on using the funds to expand its reach, by scaling up operations in the US while increasing its user network “tenfold.” It also plans on more than doubling the size of its team from 20 to 45 people.