Blackpanda Attracts US$6.7M Strategic Investment, Co-Led by Singtel Innov8 and Gaw Capital, to Transform Cyber Emergency Response & Recovery in Asia
Blackpanda, Asia’s leading cyber emergency response firm, today announced it has raised US$6.7 million in strategic funding from Singtel Innov8, Gaw Capital Partners, and WI Harper Group. The financing will accelerate Blackpanda’s expansion across Asia and enhance its comprehensive “IR-1” cyber security solution, strengthening end-to-end protection and transforming cyber emergency response and recovery for businesses in Asia. This brings Blackpanda’s total Series A round size to an aggregate of US$21.7m.
The funding coincides with the integration of Blackpanda Underwriting, Asia’s first “pure play” cyber risk underwriting coverholder backed by Chaucer of Lloyd’s of London, into the Blackpanda Group. This completes Blackpanda’s comprehensive cyber resilience offering, delivering a single solution for businesses to address critical challenges before, during, and after a cyberattack.
Blackpanda’s Investment Co-Led by Singtel Innov8 and Gaw Capital
“Cyber attacks are an existential threat to businesses, yet most lack access to affordable emergency response services,” said Gene Yu, Founder & CEO of Blackpanda Group. “Our IR-1 solution provides price-optimised, end-to-end cyber emergency response for a fixed-cost subscription. We envision a world where every business has access to essential cyber protection, and this funding brings us closer to realising that vision.”
Blackpanda’s IR-1 addresses the entire cyberattack lifecycle. It ensures readiness through incident response preparation services enhanced by proactive Attack Surface Management (ASM), expedites response with 24/7 world-class incident response, and delivers automated access to financial recovery via comprehensive cyber insurance. This unified approach simplifies cyber security management, reduces costs, and provides businesses with immediate access to enterprise-grade protection and emergency response services.
Singtel’s Cyber Elevate Programme, a holistic, training and cyber incident management initiative aimed at improving the cyber security resilience of small and medium enterprises, has incorporated Blackpanda’s solution into its overall offering.
“In today’s highly sophisticated threat landscape, it’s imperative for businesses to have the right cyber protection in place to protect their critical assets. We offer many services and solutions that help businesses to bolster their cyber resilience. Through our partnership with Blackpanda, we’re able to provide further support to small and medium businesses that are typically more at risk of attacks,” said Ng Tian Chong, CEO of Singtel Singapore.
“With the growing demand for cost-efficient and effective cyber incident response and cyber insurance across Asia Pacific, we see a significant opportunity for Blackpanda’s localised and segment-focused product suite to expand and grow in the region,” said Wan Kum Tho, MD Investments, APAC of Singtel Innov8.
Herbin Koh, Head of Venture and Growth Equity of Gaw Capital also commented, “Blackpanda has shown excellent growth and expertise by leveraging Singapore and Hong Kong as East Asia’s leading cyber security and cyber insurance markets. In the first two quarters of 2024, Blackpanda in Hong Kong achieved YoY revenue growth of 140%. We believe their best-in-class incident response capabilities, technology solutions, and innovative business models have set them on an ambitious path to become Asia’s own pre-eminent cyber resilience solution.”
Blackpanda counts major telecommunications providers as strategic partners of their cyber protection solutions across Asia, including Singtel, Macroview (a HGC group company) and Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM). Going forward, these strategic partnerships and funding will fuel Blackpanda’s mission to provide accessible, comprehensive cyber protection to businesses across Asia.
