Start-up safeguarding networks against cyber attacks raises £7.5m

A Mercia-backed start-up that has found a way to encrypt telecom and data networks without affecting performance has raised a further £7.5m.

Sitehop's technology safeguards networks from cyber attacks, including threats posed by the more powerful quantum computers that could compromise current encryption systems.

Its technology is already being used by a major telecoms provider in five countries and the company has completed a successful trial with BT, becoming the first external provider to be granted access to BT's Gemini test facility.

The latest funding round - which was led by Northern Gritstone and included existing investors Mercia Ventures, NPIF - Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia as part of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), Amadeus Capital Partners and Manta Ray - will accelerate the company's international expansion. It brings the total Sitehop has raised to date to £13.5m.

Sitehop was founded in 2021 by two engineers, Melissa Chambers and Ben Harper. Unlike traditional systems, which use software-based encryption, slowing down data transfers and causing performance bottlenecks, Sitehop's SAFEseries system encrypts data in hardware. This enables networks - in telecoms, financial services and critical infrastructure - to achieve quantum-resilient security without affecting performance and while using only a tenth of the energy of conventional systems.

Melissa Chambers, Co-founder and CEO, Sitehop, said: "Sitehop is proving the critical need for future-proof encryption, demonstrated by our early customer traction globally. As a Sheffield-founded company, this investment supports our mission to grow and scale in the region and build world-leading sovereign encryption capability right here in the UK - meaning we can accelerate international expansion while keeping the UK at the forefront of world-class cybersecurity innovation."

NPIF and Mercia first invested in Sitehop in 2022. Chris Borrett, Mercia Ventures, said: "Melissa and Ben have addressed a problem that even the biggest tech companies have failed to solve. We believe Sitehop is poised to become a major UK success story, and we are excited to partner with them on this journey."

Debbie Sorby, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said:" Eight years on from the launch of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, we continue to see the remarkable impact businesses are making on the Northern economy. The Fund was designed to support innovative companies across the region, helping them to grow and thrive. Sitehop is a standout example of this success, now one of the UK's leading technology businesses."