Cyber Upgrade, a Lithuania-based AI-driven cybersecurity solutions provider, has announced having raised €2.5 million in a seed funding round backed by Superhero Capital, Specialist VC, FIRSTPICK, NGL Ventures, and angel investors Marios S. Kalochoritis and Sergei Anikin, ex-CEO of PipeDrive. This investment marks the company’s second funding round in 12 months, following a pre-seed round of €650,000 secured in February 2024.
The company has been developing a dynamic AI-driven cybersecurity “copilot” — an automated system that guides teams through the entire cyber audit process using team communication workflows, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. By following the ”copilot” and answering a series of targeted questions, companies can easily assess their cyber and compliance readiness—or lack thereof—even without in-house cybersecurity teams. Offered as a subscription service, the tool aims to make high-level cybersecurity accessible to businesses of all sizes.
In the UK alone, around 58% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lack basic cybersecurity software, and 25% report little confidence in their ability to handle cyber threats. These businesses often cannot afford full-time cybersecurity staff, leaving them vulnerable to disruptions and fines.
“Our vision is to provide a powerful tool enabling companies to achieve the same level of cyber protection and audit readiness as Fortune 500 companies, without needing an expansive and costly in-house team,” states Aurimas Bakas, CEO of Cyber Upgrade.
The solution comes at a time when cybersecurity experts face growing challenges with increasing regulatory demands and difficulties in finding and retaining cybersecurity talent. Heightened pressures are leading industry talent toward burnout and inefficiencies. Bakas emphasized that the “copilot” could potentially offload 95% of cybersecurity and compliance tasks from teams.
“As cyber threats increase and regulations tighten, finding ways to lighten the load over overburdened CISOs and CTOs is the first line of defense,” Bakas adds. “The role of cyber team leads currently extends way beyond securing only internal systems, so offloading smaller day-to-day tasks could allow for more efficient governance of other aspects at play.”
The platform also aims to engage employees throughout the organization to create a culture of security awareness and involvement. Turning cybersecurity into an active organizational practice could plug into a larger cybersecurity objective, such as shaping secure behaviors in employees.
“Future cybersecurity will rely not on bigger IT teams but on a smarter, holistic approach,” Bakas explains. “Human error is behind a significant amount of breaches, and creating security-awareness across different teams is just as important as setting secure frameworks.”
Looking ahead, the company is pursuing plans to enhance its AI system, aiming for it to operate autonomously with no human oversight. “While our initial focus is on cyber governance, the underlying potential of our technology could lean more towards deep tech, transforming it into an all-in-one compliance management tool,” he concludes.