Cybersecurity firm Exein SpA (Italy) recently closed a significant €100m funding round to drive the acceleration of the growth of its Embedded Security Platforms. This represents a strong confirmation of the growth path of Exein abroad, and it adds to the other €70m of funding collected by Exein in 2025 (Series C round in July). In total, therefore, Exein now has over €170m of funding in 2025, demonstrating the strong confidence shown by investors towards Exein’s products, and a growing interest from the market towards firmware-level cybersecurity.
The fundraising was made possible thanks to Blue Cloud Ventures
The funds also came from the participation of some of the biggest institutional investors, such as HV Capital, Intrepid Growth Partners, Geodesic Capital, and J.P. Morgan. The fundraising was structured using a combination of equity investment and a credit line provided by J.P. Morgan, confirming the strategic position of Exein and its capital efficiency.
Gianni Cuozzo founded Exein in 2018, and he is also the current CEO
Exein specializes in embedded cybersecurity, specifically designed to protect firmware on IoT and connected devices in real time. Exein’s All-In-One Platform is composed of two main modules:
- Analyzer: Firmware scanning for vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and intrusion indicators.
- Runtime: Continuous Threat Detection, Containment, and Response (even in case of a device being offline).
Exein protects devices across critical environments against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats
It can be seen that Exein has experienced a very high growth rate in recent years. Over 1.5 billion devices are protected today by Exein’s Platform, in several countries around the globe.
In addition to the devices already in use, Exein estimates that the number of devices protected will exceed 2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, mainly thanks to the deployment of new devices and to the increasing adoption of more stringent global cybersecurity standards.
The new funds will allow Exein to execute the following initiatives:
- Support M&A activities
- Enter new markets
- Develop new products and services, including next-generation runtime security solutions based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will be unveiled in Q1 2026, at the RSA Conference.
- Embedded cybersecurity is required today due to cyberattacks directed toward the physical world (Hospitals, Airports, Transport Systems, Supply Chain, etc.) and because traditional perimeter defenses become increasingly inadequate, thus requiring manufacturers and Governments to require security “from the beginning
A digital “immune system” inside the devices to be showcased at RSA 2026
The €100m capital increase will be allocated to:
- International growth (especially in the United States and Asia-Pacific regions)
- Execution of a multi-transaction M&A program in Europe and the United States to support the growth and integration of Exein
- Acceleration of product development, especially in relation to emerging technologies and AI-enabled security functionalities.
Exein’s business model is aligned with new regulatory frameworks, including RED 3.3, the EU Cyber Resilience Act, and the US Cyber Trust Mark; the latter include device level compliance and security as mandatory features.
Exein’s 2026 plans
- Protection of over 2 billion devices.
- Deployment of the next-gen AI-first Runtime Security Technologies.
- Integration of complementary technologies and functionalities through targeted acquisition.
- Strengthen the presence in strategic geographic areas.
The recent €100m funding round marks a turning point in embedded cybersecurity, one in which cyber defense is no longer limited to networks and end points, but rather embedded into the memory and requirements of the devices themselves. As IoT becomes widespread, Exein is perfectly positioned to lead the next generation of safe connections. The new trend reflects the requirement of inserting security into firmware to ensure the provenance of the device and the integrity of the supply chain.
