IOTCUBE (now Labrador Labs), a startup developing Software Supply Chain Risk management services, raised $USD 4m (4 billion won) in Series A.
Korea Asset Investment and Security (KAIS) has led the club, followed by 3 other shareholders: Ulmus Investments, Ernest Ventures, and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).
(now Labrador Labs)
On May 21st 2021, IOTCUBE secured a $USD 4m (4 billion won) Series A investment from 4 companies. Companies include 3 VCs and 1 bank. This Series A round was lead the Korea Asset Investment and Security (KAIS) and followed by Ulmus Investments, Ernest Ventures, and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK). They respectively invested $USD 1m (1bn won) for the purchase of newly issued shares. IOTCUBE Series A pre-valuation was estimated at $USD 10m (10 billion won).
IOTCUBE has, for the first time, VC fundings in its arsenal. KAIS has led the investment club with its in-house venture investments headquarters “KAI-KVIC Smart Factory Investment Association” (worth 30 billion won or $USD 30m)
Ulmus Investment and Ernest Ventures respectively dig into their “Growth Support Investment Association No.1” and “Smart City Advanced Industry investment association” funds worth $USD 43.6m (43.6 billion won) “and $USD 18.6m (18.6 billion won). The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) joined the 2 VCs as a shareholder through its own innovation fund.
About IOTCUBE and its flagship solution : Labrador
IOTCUBE was established in 2018 as a Korea University’s Software Security Research Institute (CSSA) spin-off. In its early days, with the help of the CSSA, IOTCUBE has laid the ground for international growth. Since its inception, IOTCUBE has been selected by prestigious startup programs and was awarded funds by companies such as TIPS. TIPS is a famous Korean-government startup program which awards R&D funds to ambitious and innovative startups and is organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
IOTCUBE is led by CEO and founder Heejo Lee, a Computer Science professor at Korea University and a scholar with extensive experience in cybersecurity. Since 2015, his team at Korea University has worked closely with 3 prestigious universities: Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S., Zurich Federal University of Technology in Switzerland, and Oxford University in the U.K. to develop software vulnerability analysis solutions .
Its flagship product, Labrador, is an online platform that automatically detects vulnerabilities in software. It identifies and discloses defects in open-source software so that organizations and individuals can free-mindedly use their source code.
IOTCUBE gets its innovative edge with ‘VUDDY’, a patented algorithm that analyzes source code at the function level. During the IEEE (International Electrical and Electronic Association) conference, the pre-processing performance was evaluated to be twice as fast and the detection speed over 1,000 times as fast as similar technologies.
IOTCUBE Internal and Overseas Ambitions
IOTCUBE has raised Series A funds to accelerate its overseas targeting. Since 2020, Labrador has been strongly targeting European manufacturers with a focus on smart factories security software verification. It has currently entered the PoC stage.
It also has in-house manpower expansion in its arsenal. It planned to attract talents in all areas : R&D, overseas business planning, sales, regulatory response, and legal advice.
“KOREA ASSET INVESTMENTS & SECURITIES PLAYED A KEY ROLE TILL THE END OF SERIES A ROUND” ADDING “WITH THE VC FUNDS, WE WILL FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON STRENGTHENING OUR PRESENCE IN THE GLOBAL MARKET”.
IOTCUBE CEO HEEJO LEE
A venture capitalist official said, “As the open source software security market expands, IOTCUBE, a world’s top technology provider, was a natural attraction for investors”, adding, “If German partnerships work smoothly, IOTCUBE can expect profitability from next year”.
Excerpt from original article (Korean) :