Upstream Security, an Israel-based developer of cybersecurity technology for use in connected vehicles, completed a $30m series B round yesterday led by Renault Venture Capital, carmaker Renault’s strategic investment arm.
Fellow automotive manufacturers Volvo and Hyundai also contributed to the round, the former through its Volvo Group Venture Capital unit and the latter both singularly and through subsidiary Hyundai AutoEver.
The round was filled out by Nationwide Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for insurance and financial services group Nationwide, in addition to venture capital fund Glilot Capital Partners and VC firms CRV and Maniv Mobility.
Upstream is working on a cloud software product intended to protect connected vehicles from cyber threats, partly by utilising automotive data generated by the car, the driver, in-car telematics systems, surrounding vehicles and other vehicles in a fleet.
Christian Noske, head of Alliance Ventures, the corporate venturing alliance between Renault and peers Nissan and Mitsubishi, said: “We were impressed by Upstream’s mature platform and exciting customer traction, which is why we made the investment.
“Upstream’s world-class team built a truly unique cloud-based automotive cybersecurity model that is highly scalable with a visionary technical approach that solves a growing problem in the mobility industry.”
Enterprise-focused Glilot Capital Partners led a $2m seed round for the company in June 2017 that included Maniv Mobility. Both returned for a $9m series A led by CRV six months later.
