Cybersecurity start-up, Cytix, has announced a $7M Series A funding round to accelerate the company’s mission to tackle the problems created by rapid software change.
Software change is becoming a distinct risk for every organisation as AI-assisted development, agentic workflows, and continuous delivery have outpaced the security models built to govern it. 62% of security leaders acknowledge that security risk in their organisation is moving from a latent problem to an immediate one, with only 38% strongly agreeing that their organisation is prepared for the volume of AI-generated code entering their environment. The round has been led by Northern Gritstone, a UK venture capital and investment firm that funds science and technology startups in the North of England, with participation from existing investors, Auriga Cyber Ventures and NPIF II – PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
Speaking about the funding, Ben Armstrong, CEO of Cytix says: “We chose Northern Gritstone for their conviction in investing in deeptech companies in the North of England with global ambition. Northern Gritstone and Cytix share the belief that software change is becoming a key risk for organisations and those that build software need a solution that scales with the current pace of development. We’re also grateful to the existing investors that have backed us since the early days and increased their commitment because they’ve seen the thesis play out.”
The funding will accelerate the roll out of Cytix’s newly launched change risk platform. The platform is designed to address the questions raised by rapid software change: whether security should care about the change, what risk it introduces, and what the required action should be. The platform continuously monitors every software change or update a business makes, analyses and validates the risk of that change, and explains to regulators how that risk was handled.
“Software is changing,” explains Armstrong. “AI-assisted development means change now happens at machine speed. Meanwhile, very few security leaders have control over, or understanding of, those changes from a risk perspective. Right now, existing tools can tell you what vulnerabilities you have, but can’t tell you about the risk. We launched Cytix’ change risk management platform to get control of that risk.”
The platform sits between a customer’s software development lifecycle (SDLC) where change happens, and their risk, security and compliance functions where the change is evidenced for compliance purposes. It is the control point through which every software change passes: understanding what change occurred and the associated business risk, deciding the security action, validating the risk, and providing the evidence to show how it was handled.
The Series A round will help Cytix reach customers in enterprise and regulated businesses where change governance is a regulatory obligation. Customers can access the platform either directly with Cytix or through its managed service partnerships with NCC Group and KPMG.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “The explosion of AI-assisted software development has led to a race to ensure software implementation remains secure. Cytix’s platform aims to help enterprises take a realistic approach, recognising where change carries the most risk whilst allowing businesses to innovate. Northern Gritstone is proud to support another ambitious Manchester-based business in an exciting phase of its growth.”
Sarah Isal, Principal Investor at Auriga Cyber Ventures, said: “We invested in Cytix because the team identified early that software change would become a critical cybersecurity challenge. Since then, they’ve shown the resilience and discipline to execute on that vision, building a product that’s earning the trust of enterprise customers and strategic partners alike. We’re proud to continue supporting Ben, Thomas and the team in this next phase of growth.”
Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager at British Business Bank, said: “Cytix is a great example of the ambitious technology businesses emerging from the North of England, developing innovative solutions to address the challenges created by the rapid growth of AI and software development. Through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, we’re supporting businesses like Cytix that align with the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, helping to strengthen the North’s thriving digital and technology ecosystem.”
The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.
