CEO

Covid - the best time to start a cyber company?

U.K. cyber company announces five-year collaboration deal with top Indian brand to bring new A.I. driven cyber governance solution to the market.

In April 2020, just as the lockdown was taking hold, we spotted a challenge set by Standard Chartered to solve their problem with cybersecurity regulation using artificial intelligence. We threw our hat in the ring and won out as the best proposal. Regulativ was born. With the dark skies of Covid looming, was this the right time to start a new venture?
Our founding team has decades of real-world experience delivering global platforms into tier 1 financial institutions. We have recently focused on providing regulatory and compliance solutions leveraging the latest innovations in data management and A.I. We knew we could deliver the right product.
Bootstrapping has been our primary source of financing, but this would take us only so far. To complete the product, we needed to find funding. We looked at all the options, and whilst there is plenty of money out there looking for a return, we quickly learned that finding the right people to invest with aligned values and objectives is essential. Regulativ is early in the market, so product-market validation and fit have been critical; all the signs are good. After an exhaustive search, we agreed on a partnership with Birlasoft to fund and co-develop the product. Birlasoft was India’s most admired and valuable power brand company in 2020, but the company is not well known in the U.K. The partnership with Regulativ signals Birlasoft’s intent to bring innovative propositions to its U.K. and global customers, raise its profile in the industry and be further recognised as a leader in digital transformation.
A significant wave of bankruptcies for U.K. firms looms as many government-backed business support programmes have expired. Was it wise to found a new venture in this climate? Losses due to cybercrime are estimated to exceed $2 Trillion in 2021. It is clear that cybersecurity is here to stay. Recent high profile cyberattacks on Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and Solar Winds have been met with a swift response from governments to further tighten cyber-regulation and demand that companies implement comprehensive cyber-governance.
Announcing the partnership to the stock market and our appointment to the CyberTech100 on the same day caused a stir. Birlasoft’s market valuation was up £217m intraday and ended the day up over £100m, confirmation that the stock market also sees the value.

Regulativ.ai
71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ

Mark Weston
Contact information – mark.weston@regulativ.ai

Information about Regulativ

Collectively with 115 years of experience in Banking, 30 years in AI and ML, Regulativ.ai is a multi-award winning, innovative team of technologists, solving some of the most complex business problems. With in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity, data, and digital transformation, our experts are recognized to have delivered state-of-the-art AI-centric solutions for large corporate and financial institutions. The Regulativ.ai team is focused and passionate, with a singular focus on ensuring solutions meet client requirements. Connect with us on LinkedIn or our website.

Information about Birlasoft

Enterprise to the Power of DigitalTM
Birlasoft combines the power of domain, enterprise, and digital technologies to reimagine business
processes for customers and their ecosystem. Its consultative and design thinking approach makes
societies more productive by helping customers run businesses. As part of the multibillion-dollar
diversified The CK Birla Group, Birlasoft with its 10,000 engineers, is committed to continuing our 159- year heritage of building sustainable communities.

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Details referenced in the press release

https://www.birlasoft.com/company/news/2020/birlasoft-wins-indias-most-admired-and-valuable-power-brand-company-2020-ilc2020

NOIDA, PUNE, India | December 28, 2020 : Birlasoft Ltd [BSE: 532400, NSE: BSOFT], part of the USD 2.4 billion diversified, The CK Birla Group was recognized as India's Most Admired & Valuable Power Brand Company for the year 2020, at the India Leadership Conclave & Awards 2020 held, via a virtual ceremony, on 26 December, 2020. In its 11th edition, this Network 7 Media Group's flagship annual event has been successfully bringing together the finest minds of the society under one platform.

http://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/3262d24a-6bba-47b2-9b67-2f9e50389873.pdf

Birlasoft Announcement under Regulation 30 (LODR)-Press Release / Media Release | Announcement08 Jun,2021, 02:58PM IST
Press Release - Birlasoft and Regulativ.ai Co-Develop AI-Led Cybersecurity Assessment Platform for Global Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance Customers

https://fintech.global/cybertech100/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6807994301981696000

The CYBERTECH100 is an annual list of 100 of the world’s most innovative CyberTech companies. These are the companies every financial institution needs to know about as they consider and develop their information security and financial crime fighting strategies.

The 2020 CYBERTECH100 list received widespread attention. Companies that won places on the list generated huge awareness among financial services organisations and the wider cybersecurity community. Many were approached directly by financial institutions while others got a warmer reception from prospective clients and partners.

The list has been updated for 2021 to recognise the next-generation of solution providers shaping the future of the information security and CyberTech industries. The ranking aims to help senior executives and cybersecurity professionals evaluate which technology solutions have market potential and are most likely to succeed and have a lasting impact on the industry.

https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2021/a-Jan-21/More-than-900000-UK-small-businesses-'at-risk'-of-failing-by-early-April

A major wave of bankruptcies for UK firms looms as many current business support programmes expire at the end of March and April, according to research published today by LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and the Alliance for Full Employment (AFFE).

Almost 15 per cent – more than one in seven – UK businesses are at great risk of imminent closure. “Micro” businesses – those with fewer than 10 employees – are particularly vulnerable.


https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/downloads/simply-business-report-covid-19-impact-on-small-business.pdf

An estimated 234,000 SMEs have already permanently ceased
Trading [by September 2020]. Further challenges lie ahead – 25 per cent believe they’re at risk of
closing within the next six months, and one in five say their business wouldn’t
survive another lockdown. What’s also abundantly clear is that if the UK is to
recover, we need small businesses to bounce back. SMEs account for 99 per cent
of all UK businesses, and contribute a combined £2 trillion annually. With many
at risk of permanent closure, so much is at stake for our local communities
and the wider economy.

Thankfully, small business owners have always shown themselves to be creative,
resourceful and resilient. Despite the challenges of the last six months, 85 per
cent intend to remain self-employed – with 10 per cent planning to start new
businesses. Many owners have adopted new technologies over the past six
months, with many others learning new skills – both of which are real positives
that should have long-term benefits.
However, while business owners are innovating, they’re still reliant on
macro-economic policy. The government has a clear duty to protect public health
throughout the pandemic, but it’s obvious that any decisions – whether that’s on fiscal
policy, further lockdowns, or future packages of financial support – will also have a huge
impact on the rate of recovery for small businesses, and ultimately, the UK economy.

Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack
https://www.vox.com/recode/22428774/ransomeware-pipeline-colonial-darkside-gas-prices
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Pipeline_cyber_attack
https://www.cnet.com/news/colonial-pipeline-ceo-tells-senate-decision-to-pay-hackers-was-made-quickly/
How a major oil pipeline got held for ransom
The largest petroleum pipeline in the USA was reportedly breached by a single leaked password.

JBS ransomware attack
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jbs-paid-11-million-to-resolve-ransomware-attack-11623280781
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57423008
https://www.reuters.com/technology/jbs-paid-11-mln-response-ransomware-attack-2021-06-09/


Solar Winds breach
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_federal_government_data_breach
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-solarwinds-microsoft-idUSKBN2AF03R
https://text.npr.org/985439655


https://cybersecurityventures.com/hackerpocalypse-cybercrime-report-2016/
Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion USD in 2015.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemorgan/2016/01/17/cyber-crime-costs-projected-to-reach-2-trillion-by-2019/
In 2015, the British insurance company Lloyd’s estimated that cyber attacks cost businesses as much as $400 billion a year, which includes direct damage plus post-attack disruption to the normal course of business. Some vendor and media forecasts over the past year put the cybercrime figure as high as $500 billion and more.

From 2013 to 2015 the cyber crime costs quadrupled, and it looks like there will be another quadrupling from 2015 to 2019. Juniper research recently predicted that the rapid digitization of consumers’ lives and enterprise records will increase the cost of data breaches to $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, increasing to almost four times the estimated cost of breaches in 2015.

Birlasoft’s market valuation was up £217m intraday and ended the day up over £100m
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/stocks/birlasoft-share-price-hits-52-week-high-on-partnership-with-regulativ-ai-7008111.html

This release was published on openPR.