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A $7 million Series A fundraising round has been raised by StealthMole, an AI-powered dark web intelligence startup that specialises in tracking cyberthreats and identifying cybercrime. The company made this announcement on Thursday.
With its headquarters in Singapore and an R&D office in South Korea, the startup will utilise the new funding to open more R&D facilities, support more commercial applications of its technology in the B2B market, and expand geographically.
According to Simon Choi, chief technology officer (CTO) of StealthMole, “having an R&D office in South Korea allows us to gain critical insights into how hackers from East Asia operate.” Choi spoke with TechCrunch. “Researchers from different backgrounds will also help us analyse data related to neighbouring countries, whether they are in Singapore for Southeast Asia or in other special locations.”
In 2022, Choi (CTO), a threat investigator and open source intelligence (OSINT) profiler who had previously served as an advisor for the National Intelligence Service South Korea, the National Police Agency, and the Ministry of National Defence in South Korea, and Louis Hur (CEO), an enterprise IT security expert and serial cybersecurity entrepreneur, co-founded StealthMole.
The startup provides services to more than 50 clients in 17 Middle Eastern, Asian, and European nations. Government and law enforcement organisations for national security, as well as cybersecurity teams within businesses that handle cybersecurity incidents, assess threats, and offer cybersecurity advice and support, make up the majority of its present clientele.
Hur said in the company announcement, “StealthMole was born out of a critical market gap I encountered while working in cybersecurity and white-hat hacking: a severe lack of data points and information networks, specifically within Asia.” Data breaches, anonymous transactions, and other cybercrimes were all on the rise at the same time, for a variety of reasons, including human error and malevolent intent. Law enforcement, intelligence services, corporate security teams, and cybersecurity specialists must evaluate geographical settings and their influence on criminal operations in order to comprehend digital threats better.
According to the organisation, it tracks down criminals by utilising 255 billion analysed data points from the deep web, black web, and other undiscovered sources, such as Telegram, blogs written by cybercriminals, and hacked databases.
Chief operating officer (COO) of StealthMole Kevin Yoo told TechCrunch that one thing that sets the company apart from its competitors in the cybersecurity space is its specialisation on issues relating to Asia. The rapid digital transformation of Asia is responsible for the highest year-over-year surge in weekly cyberattacks, according to a Check Point Research report. The region’s manufacturing sector, which includes semiconductors that contain intellectual property, and the rise of the hybrid workforce make Asia a potential target for cyber espionage.
Yoo stated, “The high demand for threat intelligence focused on Asia highlights the distinctiveness and value of our dataset for customers worldwide, within and beyond Asia.”
Smilegate Investment and Hibiscus Fund, a joint venture comprising RHL Ventures, Penjana Kapital, and KB Investment, participated in the Series A financing managed by Korea Investment Partners.
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