Cybersecurity: Aarhus startup secures US million investment

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Today marks a significant milestone for Coana, which has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed investment round led by Sequoia Capital. Coana is a startup with the ambition to redefine security in the software supply chain, and they have just taken a significant step towards their goal with the new capital injection.

“Our ambition is to move upmarket, eventually aiming to cater to large enterprises, but it will take some time before we have the sophistication in language support to reach that level. Companies that want to explore Coana can apply for early access now,” says Anders Søndergaard TechCrunch.

Spin-out: Academia to Startup

The story of Coana began years ago at Aarhus University, where the three founders, Professor of Computer Science Anders Møller and PhDs Benjamin Barslev Nielsen and Martin Torp, embarked on a path of groundbreaking research after encountering a technical breakthrough. They founded Coana in 2021 and CEO and co-founder Anders Søndergaard joined in 2022

Coana for difference

Imagine a world where 95% of the safety warnings you receive are irrelevant. This is the current reality with traditional “security vulnerability scanners” – so-called SCA tools. Coana exists to change this colorful picture. Their innovative approach filters out the noise and highlights only the vulnerabilities that actually matter – significantly reducing the burden of security management.

Coana analyzes full JavaScript applications and increases the accuracy of vulnerability identification in open-source software. With the support and confidence of Sequoia Capital, along with Essence VC and several prominent industry experts, there are plans to expand the product to other programming languages, including Java and Python during 2024. They aim to make it possible to offer a high degree of precision in identifying relevant vulnerabilities, which could be a game-changer for developers and security teams.