Sypher is running a SeedBlink funding round, at the end of which it aims to raise €550,000. The round is led by Sparking Capital with €225,000 as lead investor and the majority shareholder of Romstal Group is contributing €100,000.
Sypher is the local startup that developed the GDPR Virtual Assistant – a software platform that helps companies with GDPR compliance. It was founded in 2017 by Cristian Badea and Mihai Ghiță, both professionals with over 20 years of experience in the software and payments industry. Cristian Badea was co-founder and CIO at Avangate, one of the most successful payment software companies globally, acquired by Francisco Partners in 2013. Previously, together with Mihai Ghiță, Cristian Badea helped ePayment, one of the first online payment processors in Romania, reach the top position in the local market, a favorable place for its acquisition by Naspers in 2010.
“We chose to invest in Sypher because we already use the product and know its benefits. We noticed from direct interactions the commitment and dedication of its creators, Mihai Ghiță and Cristian Badea, and we are convinced that Sypher will reach the top 3 in Europe in the next 5 years.
Going forward, we want to diversify our investment portfolio and support people with vision, with teams dedicated to the activities they develop”, said Enrico Perini, Romstal Group’s majority shareholder.
“The fact that one of our major customers sees the potential of our market, team and product confirms that we are going in the right direction. We are honored by the confidence with which Romstal Group’s majority shareholder has invested in us and we are also happy to continue our journey into new markets that we will be tackling with such a partner.” said Mihai Ghiță, co-founder of Sypher.
Sypher helps data protection professionals automate the collection and organization of information, gain insight into progress and areas that need their attention, and more effectively manage the process of analyzing, documenting, and periodically reviewing GDPR compliance to avoid the risk of potential fines and negative publicity for their organization.
The company aims to expand into the international market, focusing on organizations that are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO), and future plans include developing the platform with new functionality to address other aspects of company compliance. Over the next 12 months, Sypher aims to triple the number of companies on the platform and attract customers in Germany, France, UK, Central and Eastern Europe. The platform is currently used by more than 100 companies in Romania, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary.
“We are currently active in the privacy management software market. Research shows that in Europe alone there are over 500,000 companies with a DPO and we estimate that over 70% of them do not yet have a specialized software solution and the potential for growth is significant. Next year we will also begin the transition to the much larger, growing market for governance, risk management and compliance software”, added Sypher’s co-founder.
