VST Enterprises, the Manchester-based cybersecurity firm, has managed to rake in £11.4 million at a valuation of £220 million. Funding was secured from private investors including serial entrepreneur Chris Lightbody and director at KPMG Guy Weaver.
Established back in 2013, VST Enterprises is the pioneer of scannable code technology VCode®, a tool allowing genuine users to authenticate themselves and/or a product during online financial transactions and interactions. Currently, it is used to verify entitlement to benefits in India, also being employed as a method of payment in the UK.
It is a handy mechanism to protect against fraud in document verification, authenticity checks on apparel and identity and interactive charitable giving transactions across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. The company currently has offices in New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Singapore.
VST will use the new inflow of funds to invest in talent acquisition and explore new global opportunities including the roll out of VCode® technology to verify benefits internationally, and also to solve cybersecurity issues, such as ID theft and counterfeiting of digital assets. It is currently in the midst of talks with officials in India, Africa, Russia, Latin America and Central America. Joint ventures in sectors such as logistics, art, broadcasting, media, ticketing and travel are also slated to be finalized throughout April and May.
Louis-James Davis, CEO of VST Enterprises, commented:
We are extremely pleased with the investment we have received, and the interest in the company that has gone along with this. We received a lot of interest and had to choose investors wisely, ensuring they all had a lot to give the company in addition to the cost of the shares purchased.
Speaking of his investment in the firm, Weaver said:
What attracted me to VST Enterprises is the genuine long-term vision to solve a global security problem. VCode is not a solution looking for a problem, it’s a real antidote with global capabilities across multiple sectors and channels. The possibilities are huge and this excites me, as an investor but also as an advocate.
