Your startup in one sentence?

Mitigant proactively ensures that cloud infrastructures are compliant and resilient against cyberattacks!

 

How did your business idea come about?

Three of Mitigant's founders studied together at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam. Kennedy Torkura (Mitigant's CTO) and Muhammad Sukmana (Mitigant's CPO) focused on cybersecurity with an emphasis on cloud security in their doctoral theses, while I explored design thinking in my research. The idea for Mitigant arose from Kennedy and Muhammad's research experiences. These experiences also proved to be challenges in many companies at that time and today. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, we got together and saw an opportunity to develop an innovative cloud security solution. The idea for Mitigant was born. Our fourth founder, Thomas Fricke, joined the team in early 2021 with his knowledge as a cloud and Kubernetes security expert. Together, we founded Mitigant in 2021, and the rest is history.

 

How big is your team, who is in it, and how did you find each other?

Our team is multicultural and very diverse. Since our founding, we have grown to 11 people in Potsdam. There are over five nationalities represented, and everyone brings a different perspective to the table. We recruited some of our employees through our connections to universities, while others started out as freelancers.

 

Who benefits from your product/solution and why?

We have focused on German SMEs in our development. In this sector, cyberattacks on cloud infrastructures have increased rapidly in recent years, mainly due to high complexity and a shortage of skilled workers. However, skilled workers are needed for the secure management of cloud environments within the shared responsibility model of cloud computing. This is where Mitigant can help companies that use native cloud infrastructures to proactively protect themselves against cyberattacks.

In addition, companies can achieve compliance with cloud security regulations and best practices such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and the EU NIS2 directive. But Mitigant can do more—with Cloud Attack Emulation, it can emulate cloud attacks such as ransomware attacks or GenAI attacks to uncover security gaps. This makes companies more resilient to cyberattacks.

 

What are your next steps?

We are currently planning to expand beyond the DACH region into the European market. On the product side, we will implement security features for additional cloud providers such as Google Cloud Platform, Exoscale, and Open Telekom Cloud. We are also working on securing cloud-based GenAI services and implementing EU cybersecurity regulations (NIS2, DORA, and EU AI Act). There is a lot to do.

 

Why are you convinced that you will be successful?

I am convinced of our success for several reasons. First and foremost, we have a great product that addresses critical security challenges in native cloud infrastructures. The positive feedback from our customers shows me that we are on the right track.

In addition, we are fortunate to have strong, supportive partners who believe in our vision and support us. Partnerships with key investors and industry experts provide us with important insights for expanding and fine-tuning our offerings.

Finally, we have a great team with in-depth knowledge and experience in cybersecurity, cloud technology, and business development. Thanks to this concentrated expertise, we are able to innovate and continuously solve complex problems for our customers. The combination of product, partnerships, and employees gives me complete confidence that we are on the path to long-term success.

 

What have been your biggest successes and hurdles/low points so far?

One of the biggest challenges for us as a cybersecurity startup, besides raising capital, is convincing companies to try our solution. There is a lot at stake in cybersecurity, and it takes considerable effort and trust-building to convince companies to trust and implement a new solution.

Another challenge is the low level of awareness about the importance of cloud security. Many companies are unaware that they are responsible for the secure configuration of their clouds. This can lead to cloud attacks that exploit security vulnerabilities in the cloud. Companies do not know how to respond to and remedy cloud threats, which can result in long recovery or downtime periods and significant financial losses.

Despite these hurdles, we have achieved some major successes. We have been able to attract well-known investors such as HTGF, Adesso Ventures, Brandenburg Capital, and Wayra. The Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg and other angel investors have also invested in us and support us in many aspects of business development. This support has given us the backing we need to develop our technology so that we can move forward in a highly competitive environment while building trust with companies.

 

Why did you apply for the ATHENE Startup Award UP24@it-sa?

Participating in the competition is a unique opportunity to present Mitigant to a broad specialist audience at it-sa.

 

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