SquareX, the Singapore startup that seeks to fight cyber threats with a disposable browser, has announced raising $20 million in its Series A funding round anchored by SYN Ventures, a cybersecurity investments-focused venture capital firm.
The funding round, which closed nearly two years after the startup raised $6 million in seed funding, was also backed by existing investor Peak XV Partners, per the announcement.
SquareX CEO Vivek Ramachandran told DealStreetAsia that the fresh funds will primarily go towards engineering and research to build more product features for browser security. The rest, he added, will go to its team expansion in the US.
The startup has developed a browser detection and response (BDR) solution designed to help organisations detect and mitigate client-side web attacks.
The company’s technology, delivered through a browser extension, offers protection against various browser-based threats, including malicious extensions, spearphishing, browser-native ransomware, and data loss from generative AI tools.
By using SquareX’s disposable browser, anyone can open any email attachment or Microsoft Word files laden with malware and view their content without worrying about accidentally downloading the virus and getting infected.
It does not require users to download files or install software locally, just like what people usually do with anti-virus products. Instead, users only need to install a browser extension and pay a monthly fee to access the disposable browser.
And because the browser is disposable, one needs to just click a button to remove browsing history, delete cookies, and clear online footprint. SquareX does not have access to any user browsing history or details.
Ramachandran said the browser has become a critical endpoint for organisations but remains largely unprotected, with existing security solutions often requiring a compromise between protection and user experience.
“We built SquareX to eliminate this compromise in browser security, offering robust protection that works with the browsers users are already familiar with,” Ramachandran said.
Ramachandran is known in the industry for his work on wireless security attacks, including the Caffe Latte attack. He previously founded Pentester Academy, a cybersecurity skilling platform that offered training to professionals from government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and smaller enterprises.
Pentester Academy, which was part of Sequoia Surge’s third cohort, was acquired by information technology training firm INE in 2021.
SquareX’s latest funding comes as Southeast Asia’s rapid digital growth has led to an 82% increase in cybercrime, according to an article published by the World Economic Forum.
Kaspersky earlier reported that businesses in Southeast Asia faced an average of 400 attempted ransomware attacks every day in 2024. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to prevent access to computer systems or encrypt data until a ransom is paid.
