Cybersecurity-as-a-service startup Radicl Defense Inc. announced today that it has raised $31 million in early-stage funding to accelerate the development of its autonomous virtual security operations center built specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.

Radicl was founded in 2021 to bring enterprise-grade cybersecurity to SMBs that serve the U.S. defense industrial base and critical infrastructure. The company offers a fully managed CSaaS platform that acts as a security operations team, including continuous 24/7 monitoring, threat detection, investigation and incident response.

The idea is that rather than leaving SMBs to stitch together multiple tools or rely on basic managed service providers, Radicl’s approach gives smaller organizations access to the same level of defense usually only available to large enterprises.

The company’s vSOC is a software-led environment where Radicl’s cybersecurity experts and AI-assisted tools work together to detect and respond to threats. The vSOC combines human expertise with AI-native automation to analyze data, hunt for hidden threats and coordinate responses to help organizations defend against modern adversarial attacks.

Radicl also has compliance and risk management covered and helps customers meet stringent frameworks such as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s SP 800-171. Both frameworks are required to be complied with by defense industrial base and critical infrastructure partners to win or retain contracts.

“SMBs have historically been left behind when it comes to robust security operations and defense-in-depth,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Chris Petersen. “They simply cannot afford best-in-class technology nor talent and have gone without or adopted lower-quality options.”

Petersen add that an AI-enabled “threat tsunami” is coming for smaller businesses AI accelerates threat actors and widens their target aperture. “It is imperative that SMBs, especially those that support U.S. national security, have better options to choose from,” he said. “Radicl was founded to address this critical concern and is fighting AI with AI, delivering comprehensive and strong cyber defense with an experience and price point ideal for the SMB buyer.”

The company said revenue has increased more than sevenfold year-over-year, off an undisclosed base, and said adoption is accelerating across its customer base. Customers include Trenton Systems Inc., VATN Systems LLC, Barn Owl Tech Inc., Bluesky Innovators LLC and DIT-MCO International LLC.

The Series A round was led by Paladin Capital Group, with Access Venture Partners, Denver Ventures and Cervin Ventures also participating.

Image: RADICL