SimSpace Secures $45M Investment for Cyber Training Tech Stack Simulation

SimSpace, a startup that creates digital replicas of organizations’ tech and networking stacks for cybersecurity training, has raised $45 million in a funding round led by L2 Point Management. And it’s expanding its private-sector customer roster, having shored up contracts with the U.S. Cyber Command, FBI and national cyber defense teams in unnamed U.S.-allied countries. We’ve had to make hard decisions and to tough it out.”SimSpace’s origins lie in U.S. Cyber Command, where Hutchison designed and led a joint tactical cyber training exercise, Cyber Flag, drawing on the expertise of tech staffer Lee Rossey at MIT’s Lincoln Lab. At the time, Rossey was working on creating cyber “training ranges” to simulate the IT production environments of companies and critical infrastructure. “With SimSpace, because training occurs outside of a company’s network, it’s possible to ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at cyber teams without breaking something in an actual production environment and disrupting vital operations,” Hutchison said.

SimSpace, a startup that specializes in creating digital replicas of organizations’ technology and networking systems for cybersecurity training, has recently announced a successful funding round of $45 million led by L2 Point Management. This investment brings their total funding to $70 million, marking a pivotal moment for SimSpace which had previously been self-funded for the past two years.

According to William Hutchison, co-founder and CEO of SimSpace, the company is on track to reach their goal of $50 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of fiscal year 2023. They have also expanded their customer base in the private sector and secured contracts with notable organizations such as the U.S. Cyber Command, FBI, and national cyber defense teams in undisclosed allied countries.

Hutchison stated, “SimSpace has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense to train their operatives in Cyber Command and has also worked with four of the top five banks in the U.S. The past two years have presented challenges for our company as we navigate through a difficult financing environment. However, we have persevered and made tough decisions to continue our growth.”

The concept of SimSpace initially came from Hutchison’s experience in designing and leading a joint tactical cyber training exercise, Cyber Flag, while working in U.S. Cyber Command. He collaborated with Lee Rossey, a tech expert from MIT’s Lincoln Lab, who was developing cyber “training ranges” to simulate the IT environments of companies and critical infrastructure. Together, they founded SimSpace in 2015 with the goal of bringing their cutting-edge technology and cyber practice to both the private and government sectors.

Hutchison elaborated, “With SimSpace, we can provide training outside of a company’s network, allowing us to test the capability of cyber teams without the risk of disrupting their actual operations. Our unique traffic-generation feature also enables security teams to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of their security tools.”

The recent investment from L2 Point will aid SimSpace in achieving profitable growth and expanding their team, which currently consists of over 200 employees. Kirsten Dittmar, managing partner at L2 Point, expressed their confidence in SimSpace’s success, noting, “Their high-quality cyber ranges have gained considerable traction among leading companies and national defense organizations. This financing will enable SimSpace to further develop their military-grade capabilities and cater to a diverse and advanced customer base.”