Cologne-based blockchain startup Ubirch has completed its third round of financing and is receiving new growth funding in the seven-digit euro range. In total, the company has received several million euros since its inception to build its IoT security solution. The principal investors in this financing round are hubraum, Deutsche Telekom’s tech incubator and NRW.BANK. Investors in previous rounds include the London-based Breed Reply, Attia Ventures, SchneiderGolling & Cie. AG, BAUWENS digital GmbH and ProInvest Ubirch GbR.

Axel Menneking, Head of hubraum underscores the decision to invest: "A confident and talented team of founders with deep technical know-how and a clear product vision really convinced us. The mature security solution and Ubirch's strong partners enable the company to become one of the key players in the cybersecurity sector".

Michael Stölting, member of the Managing Board of NRW.BANK: "The Internet of Things is a mega-movement with endless opportunities for every industry. That is why we need to stand by companies from Germany which develop solutions and set international standards in the field of digital security technology".

Stephan Noller, CEO of Ubirch: “We are very pleased that we were able to convince hubraum and NRW.BANK as investors in Ubirch. We will use the additional capital in particular to expand our sales activities and product development. Thanks to new industry-specific offers and thanks to strong partners, we will soon introduce further unique products in the IoT environment. At some of the upcoming major world lead tradeshows we will depict how IoT SIM cards can be equipped with Ubirch's security technology. Our process seals sensor data directly at its source - the SIM chip - and not, as with others, after it has been stored in a blockchain in the cloud.”

The Ubirch solution works similar to sealing a contract at the office of a sworn-in notary. The seal can still be broken and the contract changed but not without leaving traces (tamper evidence), and if these traces are detected, the original document can be retrieved from the notary’s archive for comparison. Innovative cryptography and blockchain technologies guarantee the trustworthiness of IoT data. While most other IoT security solutions focus on securing the transmission channel and/or the device, Ubirch focuses on securing the IoT data-packets individually. The advantage and USP of this approach are pervasiveness, warranted authenticity and order of sequence as the security is attached to the data-packets with these interlinked in a blockchain. They are always secured – even if they have been transmitted over non-secure channels. Ubirch technology - deployable as software or on SIM-cards - is aimed primarily at customers in the industrial, smart cities, insurance, IoT start-ups, energy supply, homeland security and logistics segments.

About NRW.BANK:
NRW.BANK is the promotional bank of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany’s most populous state. Its mission is to support its owner – the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – in the completion of its structural and economic policy tasks. In its three promotional fields “Economy”, “Housing” and “Infrastructure/Municipalities”, NRW.BANK uses a wide range of promotion tools – from low-interest promotion loans to equity financing to advisory services. It cooperates with all banks and savings banks based in NRW on a competition-neutral basis. NRW.BANK takes into account the existing offers by the Federal Government, the North Rhine-Westphalian government and the European Union in the arrangement of its promotion. Follow us on www.twitter.com/NRWBANK.

About hubraum:
hubraum connects the digital startup ecosystem with Deutsche Telekom, linking tech entrepreneurs and high growth startup companies with the expert network, capital, and business opportunities of Deutsche Telekom. hubraum offers various programs out of three locations in Berlin, Krakow and Tel-Aviv. Start-ups can benefit from seed financing, co-working space, mentoring, networking events and connections to Deutsche Telekom business units as well as access to customers.

About Ubirch:
Ubirch is the specialist for blockchain-based security technology in the field of IoT with locations in Cologne, Berlin and Munich. The team consists of experienced specialists in cryptography, blockchain and data-driven business models. Consisting of an extremely lightweight client for sensor firmware and the matching cloud backend, Ubirch's "Blockchain for Things" solution enables military-grade data protection to deliver new business models for IoT.