Accelerator · 2 deals
Melbourne, VIC
Every published round CyRise took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nullify | Pre-seed | Jun 2023 | $1.1m | Participant | Startup Daily (6 Feb 2026), SmartCompany (15 Mar 2024), SmartCompany (11 Mar 2024), SmartCompany (30 Jun 2023), Startup Daily (26 Jun 2023) | |
| Nullify | Accelerator | Feb 2023 | - | Lead | ARN (ARNnet), Startup Daily |
Everyone CyRise has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
Companies CyRise has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nullify | AI agents that autonomously find, validate and fix software vulnerabilities | Feb 2023, Accelerator | 2 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for CyRise, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies CyRise has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal CyRise did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No portfolio company of CyRise is recorded as having been acquired. | ||||
Companies CyRise acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round CyRise raised.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Scott Handsaker | CEO | Startup Daily, SmartCompany |
| Virginie Hoareau | Board Member | Startup Daily |
Stories naming CyRise. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly roundup of five Australian startups announcing raises: Stacked Farm, Sherlok, Readiitel's Readii, Nullify and Baresop, together bringing in $46.9 million from local investors.
Also SmartCompany
Nullify, which uses AI to detect code vulnerabilities, has secured $1.1 million in pre-seed funding from OIF Ventures, Blacknova Ventures, Cyrise and two former XM Cyber founders now at Skylight Cyber.
Cybersecurity accelerator CyRise, run by NTT and Deakin University since 2017, is shutting down in May, leaving Australia without a dedicated cyber startup accelerator; its portfolio startups collectively raised over $40m afterwards.
Also Startup Daily
Sydney device-security software firm Devicie has raised a $14 million Series A led by Insight Partners with CyberCX, after an earlier seed round, to fund overseas growth and team expansion.
Also Startup Daily
Melbourne cybersecurity firm Cydarm raised $3 million in a round led by InterValley Ventures, with Five V Capital and returning backer Right Click Capital, to hire staff and expand internationally.
Cydarm Technologies, a Melbourne cyber security software maker, has banked $500,000 with Right Click Capital leading, money earmarked for market validation and hiring, while founder Vaughan Shanks eyes overseas markets within a year.