Tokyo-based Trillium Inc, a leading contender in the global race to close the cyber-security gap that threatens to stop self-driving cars in their tracks, today announced the successful closing of its Series A financing round with investments by lead investor Global Brain, Mizuho Capital and DBJ Capital.
Tokyo-based Trillium designs and provides custom, multi-layer adaptive cyber-security systems, focused in the near-term on automotive needs – but applicable to the entire IoT spectrum.
“With funding now in place, we are set to move quickly to market with a robust and urgently needed solution,” said David Uze, Trillium’s CEO. “Hundreds of articles on autonomous driving appear in the media every day, but almost none mention the elephant in the room: automakers do not yet have a reliable defense against cyber-threats. Period. One serious hack could immediately halt progress in automated driving. But we have the remedy.”
Trillium’s robust, comprehensive and cost-effective solution secures all three key ‘cyber-threat domains’ in the car with a software-based approach that is compatible with any architecture or operating system. And it can be implemented for as little as 1/10th the cost of competing solutions – most of which are still under development.
“Meanwhile, our multi-layered solution is at an advanced stage,” Uze said. “We have moved into the real-world testing phase via partnerships with a legendary Japanese Super GT racing team and a leading maker of automotive semiconductors. We are now having in-depth discussions with several major automakers and tier-one suppliers. We’re ready to implement whenever they are.
“With this new investment,” Uze elaborated, “we intend to move ahead, quickly but prudently, on several fronts – Accelerate development and deployment of our Automotive IoT cyber-security platforms: ‘SecureCAR’ and ‘SecureIoT.’
- Expand in-vehicle implementation and testing of cyber-security retrofits on current-model connected vehicles.
- Expand business operations in Silicon Valley.
- Establish a satellite penetration testing and engineering hub in Michigan, USA.
“Trillium’s solution provides three solid and distinctive advantages,” Uze continued.
“One – where competitors offer a single firewall, we provide multi-layered defense-in-depth.
“Two – since defense must continually evolve, our infrastructure will deliver Security as a Service (SaaS) via real-time-update platforms that automakers or insurers can on-sell to car owners. We plan beta deployment in early 2018 and full commercialization by 2020.
“Three – our software-based approach is not only the lowest-cost solution on the horizon, for manufacturers the SaaS model shifts it from fixed cost to revenue generator.”
Trillium’s Series A investors expressed their confidence in the company’s prospects:
Yasuhiko Yurimoto, president and CEO of lead investor Global Brain, said, “We are confident that Trillium will be a great success because their solution is at an advanced stage and it meets three key criteria: robust security, universal applicability and low cost.”
Hajime Saito, president of Mizuho Capital Co. Ltd., said, “As we move rapidly into the era of connected cars and the IoT, cyber-security is becoming an urgent priority, and we are confident that Trillium’s solution is a timely and effective response.”
Fumiyuki Kashima, president & CEO of DBJ Capital Co. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Development Bank of Japan), said, “Just as today’s connected cars have made cyber-security an imperative, Trillium has emerged as a global leader in developing software solutions to meet this urgent need. At the DBJ Group we anticipate that Trillium will be very successful worldwide and we will do our utmost to ensure its success.”
As Trillium moves into its next phase – rolling out a comprehensive, subscription-based security solution for all segments of the transportation industry – the company will consider executing a Series B investment round in the near future.
Trillium Inc. was founded in 2014 with a team of executives and engineers from Japan, Europe and the U.S. with extensive experience in relevant fields, backed by lead investment from Global Brain, a Tokyo-based venture capitalist.
