Significant financing fosters substantial growth in the highly anticipated industrial cybersecurity market
TXOne Networks, a global leader in Industrial IoT (IIoT) security, announced today that it has completed its “Series A” financing. This round was led by JAFCO Asia Investment, Jade Stone Jinghua Limited Partnership Fund, and a number of other well-known investors. TXOne Networks received an investment of $12.9 million this round, and in total has received $23.7 million in investments since its founding. The funds raised will be used to refine TXOne’s highly adaptable Industrial Control System (ICS) security products, to expand its business in certain regions, and to strengthen marketing and after-sales service teams. Long-term, TXOne will continue to place its focus on simplifying the complex and fast-changing cybersecurity issues that are troublesome for organizations at various phases of digital transformation and perfecting the defense solutions necessary for the digital transformation of the ICS industry.
TXOne Networks, a joint venture of Trend Micro, a global leader in information security solutions, and Moxa, a global leader in industrial infrastructure, has rapidly become one of the world’s foremost industrial cybersecurity brands – in part thanks to the recognition of recently-won international awards. Dr. Terence Liu, CEO of TXOne Networks, explains: “TXOne Networks has been recognized by industrial customers since its founding, and we have experienced substantial growth since then. I am very pleased that we have completed this Series A round of investments with a good result and the trust of our investors. The successful completion of this fundraising is of great significance to us, and to setting up the next stage of TXOne Networks’ development.”
Yoshiyuki Shibusawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of JAFCO Asia, a Japanese venture capital group, adds: “Deploying security measures in Operational Technology (OT) such as in industrial control systems is becoming increasingly important and urgent. Cyber threats to such targets are growing at alarming rates and pose social risks that can no longer be overlooked. This is why getting to know TXOne Networks, who are in the midst of this remarkable problem-solving, has been very exciting for us. With the respectable team led by Dr. Liu, together we will do our best to tackle this critical theme.”
Eva Chen, CEO and co-founder of TXOne Networks’ mother company TrendMicro, concludes: “We live in a connected world; the present danger to cybersecurity is very clear. Security is Trend Micro’s entire focus, and the Industrial Control System (ICS) is no exception. I am so glad to see our mission of securing the world can extend through TXOne Networks to inspire innovations that can keep up with attackers, especially in the face of threats evolving to target diverse ICS verticals.”
Recommendations for the post-pandemic cyber threat landscape
While the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation and the push into Industry 4.0, it also brought new challenges to the manufacturing industry. The boundaries between IT and OT have become blurred, and the number of available attack surfaces – starting points for hackers’ attacks – has expanded exponentially. Securing Industrial Internet of Things technology is a major challenge for manufacturing operations due to the unique needs of the industrial control environment. OT assets are critical to productivity, and any interference with them represents a serious problem. For this reason, it is difficult for companies to find cybersecurity solutions that ensure the safety of equipment while supporting the smooth operation of work site equipment. Many companies want to know how to think about cybersecurity in light of the major changes brought about by the pandemic.
According to TXOne Networks CEO Dr. Terence Liu: “The pandemic has forced everyone to stop and look at the digital transformation from a new perspective, and it has revealed various management challenges that may expose companies to cybersecurity risk. I think companies should first face up to the fact that the industrial network environment has inherent security risks, and proactively work to understand and examine those risks. Secondly, it’s important to study the vulnerabilities in the system and formulate a protection strategy that meets the unique requirements of the OT environment: security must not impact performance or interrupt operations, and must include solutions that work for any environment. Finally, action must be taken to coordinate cybersecurity endeavors with the different stages of digital transformation. Only in this way can risks be minimized, mission-critical equipment be protected, and operational interruptions and loss of invaluable data be avoided.”
Industrial control system security becomes a new frontier
Since the COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked the digital transformation, industrial control system security has become a new frontier in the market and has entered a phase of rapid growth. TXOne Networks is on track to continue its performance of more than 100% growth for three consecutive years. With this investment of $12.9 million, the leading global Industrial IoT security brand has set a new milestone at the completion of its Series A round of fundraising. The company has gathered momentum from both the cybersecurity and industrial automation veterans, bringing excellent technology and services to customers all over the world. TXOne will continue to respond to new threats to the OT environment and support successful digital transformation by combining accumulated operational expertise with AI technology to provide solutions customized to industrial environments and the Industrial Internet of Things.
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