Cytix, a Manchester-based cybersecurity start-up, has raised £5 million in a Series A round led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from existing investors Auriga Cyber Ventures and PXN Ventures. The funding will accelerate the roll-out of Cytix's newly launched change risk platform.
Software change is becoming a distinct risk for every organisation as AI-assisted development, agentic workflows and continuous delivery have outpaced the security models built to govern it. According to research cited with the round, 62% of security leaders acknowledge that security risk in their organisation is moving from a latent problem to an immediate one, with only 38% strongly agreeing that their organisation is prepared for the volume of AI-generated code entering their environment.
Sitting between a customer's software development lifecycle and their risk, security and compliance functions, the platform continuously monitors every software change or update a business makes, analyses and validates the risk of that change, and explains to regulators how that risk was handled. Acting as the control point through which every software change passes, the platform decides the security action, validates the risk and provides the evidence to show how it was handled.
The Series A round will help Cytix reach customers in enterprise and regulated businesses where change governance is a regulatory obligation. Customers can access the platform either directly with Cytix or through its managed service partnerships with NCC Group and KPMG.
We chose Northern Gritstone for their conviction in investing in deeptech companies in the North of England with global ambition. Northern Gritstone and Cytix share the belief that software change is becoming a key risk for organisations and those that build software need a solution that scales with the current pace of development. We're also grateful to the existing investors that have backed us since the early days and increased their commitment because they've seen the thesis play out. Software is changing. AI-assisted development means change now happens at machine speed. Meanwhile, very few security leaders have control over, or understanding of, those changes from a risk perspective. Right now, existing tools can tell you what vulnerabilities you have, but can't tell you about the risk. We launched Cytix' change risk management platform to get control of that risk.
The explosion of AI-assisted software development has led to a race to ensure software implementation remains secure. Cytix's platform aims to help enterprises take a realistic approach, recognising where change carries the most risk whilst allowing businesses to innovate. Northern Gritstone is proud to support another ambitious Manchester-based business in an exciting phase of its growth.
We invested in Cytix because the team identified early that software change would become a critical cybersecurity challenge. Since then, they've shown the resilience and discipline to execute on that vision, building a product that's earning the trust of enterprise customers and strategic partners alike. We're proud to continue supporting Ben, Thomas and the team in this next phase of growth.
Cytix is a great example of the ambitious technology businesses emerging from the North of England, developing innovative solutions to address the challenges created by the rapid growth of AI and software development. Through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, we're supporting businesses like Cytix that align with the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy, helping to strengthen the North's thriving digital and technology ecosystem.
