Internet-scanning intelligence startup lands $30 million Series A

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) software startup Fivecast, has raised US$20 million (AU$30m) in a Series A.

The Adelaide-based intelligence gathering platform scans publicly available data, including social media sites and the dark web, to identify threats ranging from extremists to terrorists, drug trafficking and organised crime.

The round was led by US cybersecurity VC Ten Eleven, supported by existing backers Main Sequence, , CSIRO’s deep tech fund, and South Australian Venture Capital Fund.

It takes the total funding raised by the company to A$34 million.

The cash is earmarked for expanding and servicing existing contracts, including with the Five Eyes nations – Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US and UK. The intelligence gathering service is also targeting the Asia Pacific region and Europe and looking to move into corporate security and financial intelligence.

Fivecast was built as a collaboration between government agencies, the platform uses AI and ML for targeted collection and risk analysis intelligence for defence, intelligence services, police, border security and corporations.

CEO and cofounder Dr Brenton Cooper said the sheer volume of data available online makes it difficult for intelligence personnel to collect, filter and analyse data in a timely fashion

“Our platform enables customers to fight the proliferation of threats, pierce through sophisticated online landscapes, and speed up investigations to protect global communities and organisations.

“Since our founding in 2017, we have enabled government agencies and corporations to identify threats, reduce risks and mitigate incidents across a diverse range of use cases – from divisive US politics influencing violent extremism and China’s influence in the South pacific, through to crypto scams and money laundering.”

Ten Eleven Ventures managing partner Alex Doll said they see OSINT as a large and emerging sector driven by the explosion of publicly available content

“Governments, law enforcement, and other organisations need a faster and easier way to collect and analyse this open-source data,” he said.

“Fivecast’s advanced collection methods and AI-supported analysis tools bypass current manual data analysis processes to meet this important need. Notably, this is our second investment in Australia, a country we know has tremendous entrepreneurial and technical talent. We will make additional investments in Australia in the years ahead and look forward to helping bridge the country’s incredible tech to other markets.”