Cybersecurity startup Field Effect on the hunt for acquisitions following $30-million CAD debt facility from Scotiabank

Led by former cyberspies, Field Effect has secured a $30-million CAD debt facility from Scotiabank’s Technology Innovation and Banking Group to scale its suite of cybersecurity solutions for businesses.

Before this debt financing, Field Effect closed its first external capital raise in October 2022–a $41-million CAD ($30-million USD) equity Series A round that the company later upsized to around $47 million in December. It was previously bootstrapped since its inception.

“Businesses shouldn’t be paying for a cybersecurity solution just to keep worrying whether their defense is strong enough.”

Field Effect was founded by Matt Holland (CEO) and Andrew Loschmann (COO) in 2016. Prior to building this startup, the duo spent years working at the Communications Security Establishment—Canada’s cyberspy agency. As reported by The Globe and Mail, their line of work included “breaking into an organization’s IT system on some scale.”

Now working for the other side, Holland and Loschmann’s mission is to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with “intelligence-grade” protection.

Field Effect’s flagship product is a holistic cybersecurity platform for cloud, network, and devices called Covalence. The software uses advanced analytics, machine learning, and the expertise of security analysts to monitor, detect, and respond in real-time to cyber threats.

In addition to Covalence, Field Effect also provides simulation and cybersecurity training to companies and SMEs, large corporations, universities, and government agencies through its cyber range.

A March report from Mastercard found that the average cost of data breaches for Canadian businesses is estimated at $5.64 million. However, only 39 percent of business leaders have implemented ongoing vulnerability assessment tools.

Fuelled by multiple rounds of funding in the past year, Field Effect said it aims to accelerate its growth strategy with acquisitions. Holland also told BetaKit that the startup plans to “deepen” its expansion in the United States as well as its “secondary targets” of the United Kingdom and Europe.

When asked about Field Effect’s acquisition strategy, Holland said a “very predictable and reliable formula” would be to acquire managed security service providers and have them adopt Field Effect’s Covalence platform.

In an interview with BetaKit in October, Holland said the startup is experiencing “rapid customer growth and industry-leading customer retention rates.”

“The next phase of growth will be to secure as many SMEs as possible,” Holland added.

As of October, Field Effect has a workforce of over 170 employees. The startup previously said it plans to grow its headcount to 500 by the end of 2024 with additions in leadership, sales, marketing, technical, and operational roles. By press time, its LinkedIn page notes it has 178 employees.

Featured image courtesy Field Effect.