Latest news with #Primor
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cynomi cinches $37M for its AI-based 'virtual CISO' for SMB cybersecurity
Small and medium businesses are the latest targets for cybersecurity attacks, with one in three small businesses experiencing a data breach last year. SMBs are becoming more proactive in detecting and stopping these threats, and today a startup called Cynomi is announcing $37 million in funding to meet that demand. Insight Partners and Entrée Capital are co-leading this Series B, with previous backers Canaan, Flint Capital and S16VC also participating. Sources close to the deal told TechCrunch that the company was valued at more than $140 million post-money. Cynomi previously raised around $23 million (including this seed round we covered in 2022). London and Tel Aviv-based Cynomi was founded by CEO David Primor, a PhD who previously was the CTO and head of R&D of the Israeli Defense Forces; and COO Roy Azoulay, who was a founder and started and led the first startup incubator at Oxford University. Cynomi leans, at a basic level, into the trend of using AI-based agents to do complicated and high-volume work, but it's also pushing the boundaries of what we might expect those AIs to do. CEO Primor describes his product not as an AI agent but as a 'virtual CISO' — an automated, AI-based decision maker that can help smaller organizations understand how to run their security operations. It's also building a number of actions this "virtual CISO" is capable of carrying out. It can assess a network, plan a set of security policies, make remediation plans, track progress, run analytics to find vulnerabilities in a network, recommend optimizations for systems, and produce reports on the network status and health. All of this is not sold directly by Cynomi to SMBs, but via third parties that SMBs typically use for network connectivity and other managed services. The gap in the market that Cynomi is trying to exploit is a very large one. Malicious hackers used to focus exclusively on more valuable, larger businesses, but these days, they have started to focus on the long tail in the market. SMBs are numerous, accounting for some 90% of all businesses globally, so tapping into them can make for lucrative pickings. SMBs face some particular challenges, however, when it comes to budget and manpower, which is where a product like Cynomi's comes in. 'A virtual CISO service can start at $10,000 to $12,000 a year,' notes Azoulay, Cynomi's COO. 'A human CISO would be about at least 10 to 15 times that. It's about having the knowledge and to be a sophisticated buyer in the sense of finding that CISO. It's also about having a CISO [be online] the full week, 52 weeks a year.' That formula, so far, has worked for the startup. Cynomi has seen its annual recurring revenue triple in the last year, Primor said, with more than 100 service providers and consultancies — including big telcos like Deutsche Telekom — reselling Cynomi's services to thousands of SMBs. Some 80% of its customers are in the U.S., and the company will be now widening its focus to Europe and other markets. The funding will be used for R&D and business development because the startup believes there is an even bigger opportunity ahead than just virtual CISOs. 'The cybersecurity consulting space is a $163 billion business, but we believe it doesn't really have an operating system,' said Azoulay. 'We believe Cynomi can be that operating system.' There are dozens of cybersecurity companies out there targeting SMBs, and a sizeable group has identified service providers as their primary sales channel. These include the likes of Vanta, Cohere, Qualys, Coro, Bastion, Guardz. CyberSmart, Cowbell and DataGuard. Philine Huizing, MD at Insight Partners, said that it's the 'vCISO' hook that reeled Insight in as an investor. 'We believe Cynomi is defining a new category with its vCISO platform,' she said. Meanwhile, the startup's focus on working with managed service providers to deliver the product means it can be tailored or augmented with whatever the service providers are building or selling. That could help differentiate the service and keep it from becoming another commoditized offering. 'MSPs can assess each client's unique risks, customize strategies by industry, and efficiently manage day-to-day interactions, making them more impactful,' Huizing added. Sign in to access your portfolio
Local Spain
25-03-2025
- Health
- Local Spain
Six things foreigners often find surprising about pharmacies in Spain
If you're planning on moving to Spain, are new here or are simply visiting, there will be many things to get your ahead around about your new country. If unfortunately you fall ill or you need help filing long-term prescriptions, you'll need to visit a pharmacy, or farmacia in Spanish. There are several ways that pharmacies in Spain may differ from the ones you're used to back home though, from the way the operate to the items available. Here's what you need to know. There are no big chain pharmacies While you'll find several big stores selling cosmetics, shampoos and lotions such as Primor, Druni and Sephora, you won't actually find any big chain pharmacies like Boots in the UK or Walgreens in the US, which sell wide ranges of vitamins, pain killers, cold and flu medicine etc. Even big chain supermarkets in Spain will not have pharmacy sections where you can buy these types of products. If you want any of these items, you'll have to go to a specific individual pharmacy, not a big chain or supermarket. Like in most countries you'll be able to find some pharmacies that are open any time of the day or night you need them. These are known as farmacias de guardia and offer services 24 hours a day. Even if they are not physically open, you will typically be able to ring a bell and someone will come and serve you through the hatch. Like most establishments, most pharmacies also close on Sundays, but these particular farmacias de guardia - typically one per neighbourhood - will stay open. You can't pick medicine up from the shelves yourself in Spain If you're sick somewhere like the UK or the US for example, you'll probably head to your nearest Boots or Walgreens and simply pick up a packet of Advil, Nurofen or Lemsip and Beechams for cold and flu. You can spend time looking at the different products on offer, compare prices and ingredients, but in Spain, even in pharmacies, there are no medicines out on the shelves for you to pick up yourself. Pharmacies only have products such as cosmetics, sunscreens and baby bottles out on the shelves, anything that's considered a medicine, you'll have to ask for. This can be slightly frustrating because you won't know the price of anything until they get it for you, and you can't really look at different options as you don't know what's available. It's all down to what the pharmacist believes you need or if you know the brand you want. But don't worry, pharmacists here are used to being asked lots of questions, so you if you want to compare brands or ingredients in different medicines, they will definitely be able to help you. The main issue may be the language barrier, because you'll have to communicate in Spanish rather than just look on the shelves. It's worth noting though, that pharmacists in many big cities may have some level of English. Spanish pharmacists are highly-trained, and you can go to them for advice The good news is that even if you can't pick up items yourself, pharmacists in Spain can often be your first point of call when you need medical advice and can be used for minor issues instead of going to the doctor. They will also tell you whether or not they think you need to see a doctor. But unlike in the UK, pharmacists in Spain cannot issue prescriptions, so if you need a type of medicine which you need a doctor's authorisation for, you'll still have to make an appointment. Spanish pharmacies can be more expensive for everyday items Brands in Spanish pharmacies tend to be on the expensive side, particularly for things like supplements, cold meds and vitamins. You can't just pick up a cheap Boots-own brand bottle of vitamin C, so you may be shocked at how much things cost in pharmacies here. Having said that, if you actually have a prescription for medicine from your doctor, this is highly subsidised by the government and can be very inexpensive. This means most prescription meds are definitely cheaper than countries with private healthcare systems like the US. Some pharmacies in Spain look more like museums There are many pharmacies in Spain that have been going for years, even over a century, and still look like old apothecary shops with the antique ceramic jars, old wooden cabinets and even vintage signage. They look almost like museums stuck in time, even though they're modern working pharmacies. Today, these historic decorative elements are mostly for show, medicines come in sealed boxes and packets rather than directly from these jars and mini drawers.
