Tessian raises $13 million to use machine learning for securing enterprise email

Tessian of London announced today that it has raised $13 million in venture capital as the U.K.-based company seeks to automate the problem of enterprise email security.

Formerly known by the more literal name CheckRecipient, the company uses machine learning to discover and fix misaddressed emails, a seemingly mundane hiccup that in fact causes big security headaches for companies when sensitive information falls into the wrong hands.

Tessian notes that the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office receives more security incident reports about misaddressed emails than any other type of security issue. And new European privacy rules could result in hefty fines for such mistakes.

“With the recent report from the ICO that misaddressed emails are now the number one data security incident reported to them and GDPR now in full swing, companies should make addressing this risk a top security priority,” said Tessian CEO and co-founder Tim Sadler in a statement. “It’s human nature to fear scary things like hackers or malware, but we often don’t think twice about the dangers behind something as familiar and ingrained as sending an email. In reality that’s where an overwhelming threat lies.”

Tessian’s machine intelligence technology scours corporate email networks to analyze common patterns and detect anomolies. If it detects something unusual in an email someone is trying to send, it will send a warning suggesting the user check the contents.

The latest round of funding was led by Balderton Capital, and included participation from previous investors Accel. Amadeus Capital Partners, Crane, LocalGlobe, Winton Ventures and Walking Ventures.

The company raised a seed round last year, and now has 50 employees. According to a press release, its annual recurring revenue has grown 400 percent over the last 12 months. In addition to investing in product development, the company plans to use the latest funding to grow its marketing and sales divisions.