Startups Protecting The Enterprise On All Fronts

B2B FinTech startups struck out this week, but that doesn’t mean venture capitalists ignored the B2B startup space altogether. This week was largely about the companies that are helping businesses protect themselves from, well, themselves. While VC favorite enterprise cybersecurity showed up on the scoreboard, investors also eyed startups that help businesses manage their employees and their business partners. Funding rounds this week made it pretty clear that there are risks businesses face coming from all sides: from within, from without and from the digital realm.

Cybersecurity

Bay Dynamics

The risk analysts over at Bay Dynamics secured a healthy $23 million in Series B funding, the startup revealed on Wednesday (July 13). Carrick Capital Partners led the investment, which will be used to help Bay Dynamics expand globally and continue to innovate in the cyberrisk management space.

“We are already helping companies nationwide shift their approach to focusing on risks to their most valued assets as the driver of their cybersecurity decisions,” Cofounder and CEO of the U.S.-based firm, Feris Rifai, said in a statement. “Now, we are going to expand our reach and continue to innovate so that companies can easily and effectively embrace cyberrisk management as part of their regular business processes.”

Compliance

Behavox

The enterprise may be at risk from outside cybercrime, but according to analysts, often an even bigger risk for a corporation is its own employees. While there are solutions to help businesses identify or avoid employee fraud, one startup, Behavox, is providing employee management solutions to ensure financial services companies remain compliant.

Behavox announced a Series A funding round on Wednesday (though did not elaborate on how much it raised). The funding was led by Hoxton Ventures and Promus Ventures, based in London and Chicago, respectively. The startup provides financial institutions with machine learning, voice analytics and natural language processing technologies to identify what employees say via phone, email and chat while at work, as well as where and when they said it.

Its purpose is to uncover threats of noncompliance by internal employees, like bribery or insider trading. With the new funding, Behavox said it plans to open a headquarters in the U.S., according to reports.

Employee Management

PostBeyond

Behavox may be helping the enterprise make sure it’s protected against its own employees, but another startup from Canada is looking at how employees can actually help fuel corporate growth.

PostBeyond revealed a $4 million funding round on Wednesday, with investors backing its solution that enables employees to post corporate content on social media sites for marketing and brand recognition purposes. The Series A funding was led by Information Venture Partners and Export Development Canada, reports said.

The startup already services firms like Scotiabank and Molson Coors, CEO and Cofounder Ivan Tsarynny said, adding that clients are placed across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Its purpose is to help these businesses ensure that employees share company information appropriately and securely while promoting their firms.

Supplier Management

SirionLabs

India’s SirionLabs announced a $12.25 million Series B funding round this week as it works to help businesses manage their suppliers and handle vendor contracts. The startup, whose funding was led by Sequoia India, with backers at QualGro ASEAN Fund and Canopy Ventures participating, provides data aggregation and analytics solutions for businesses to manage their vendors and handle the data of supplier contracts and other documents related to procurement.

SirionLabs automates the auditing process of contracts with vendors, it said, and with new funding, the company said it will continue to focus on enhancing its automation capabilities and expand its sales team, not only across India but also across the U.S., U.K. and Singapore.

B2B eCommerce

Esaja

Venture capital funding in B2B eCommerce startups has become a rare sight, especially since giants like Amazon and, now, eBay have launched their own online marketplaces for businesses. But one startup in Zimbabwe shows that demand for B2B eCommerce innovation remains.

Esaja raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Swastika Company, based in Hong Kong, to help businesses “check each other out” when sourcing goods and supplies. Venture capitalists will help the company grow and adapt to the market based on user feedback, reports said.

“We’re tackling a big pain point and have spend tons of time and resources traveling, learning from and working with thousands of businesses from across the continent,” said Founder Clinton Mutambo in an interview. “The gap we saw was really out of scratching our own itch. It should be simpler for businesses to find out about opportunities around them,” especially when it comes to potential suppliers, the entrepreneur added.