Berlin-based NetBird, a company that develops an open-source network security platform, announced on Tuesday that it has raised €4M in Seed funding.
The round was co-led by InReach Ventures and existing investor Nauta, with participation from Antler and a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The German company plans to use the funds to accelerate its product development and expand its footprint globally.
Talking about the expansion plans to Silicon Canals, Mikhail Bragin, co-founder of Netbird, says, “NetBird’s expansion plans focus on strengthening its market position in Europe, including the Netherlands. Despite having a global user base, the priority is to establish a deeper regional presence, build partnerships, and tailor solutions to meet the needs of European businesses, particularly SMEs, which are key drivers of the economy in the Netherlands.”
Additionally, the company plans to double down on hiring efforts with the latest capital injection.
Explaining the job criteria and expectations, he says, “The focus is now on hiring individuals who combine deep technical expertise with a strong understanding of marketing and growth strategies, particularly in the secure networking and Zero Trust space, to drive adoption and scale the business effectively.
Birth of NetBird
Misha Bragin and Maycon Santos, a couple of engineers passionate about network security and open-source development, founded NetBird.
They began their journey in Brazil at PSafe, a cybersecurity startup later bought by CyberLabs.
After moving to Berlin, they joined a founder residency program by Antler, a leading early-stage venture capital firm in Europe.
During this time, they came together to work on a side project about end-to-end encryption and secure data transfer, which eventually turned into NetBird.
NetBird is a software company developing an open-source, zero-trust network security platform that’s easy and affordable for teams of all sizes and budgets.
The company’s mission is based on a fundamental belief: secure private networking is a basic right for every modern organisation.
What is Zero Trust Security?
The shift to hybrid work has transformed network security from perimeter-based defences to Zero Trust architectures.
This approach, based on the principle of “never trust, always verify,” assures continuous authentication for all users and devices, mitigating remote access risks.
A zero-trust architecture (ZTA) is a design that focuses on safety by ensuring strict access controls, verifying devices and users, and keeping systems separate.
Citing an example, Bragin explains, “Imagine a hotel where guests can freely wander around, check out other rooms, and even take things that aren’t theirs. It’s chaotic, insecure, and a nightmare for the hotel owner to manage. This represents traditional private networks, where once someone gains access, they can do whatever they want.”
“In contrast, a Zero Trust “hotel” provides guests with a key card that only allows access to their assigned room for a limited time. This means guests cannot enter other rooms or areas they are not authorised to access. Similarly, in IT, users can only access specific resources they need for a limited time, minimising the risk of security breaches from compromised credentials,” he continues.
“Furthermore, we establish dedicated corridors for each guest, leading only to their room. This is like a direct encrypted tunnel (peer-to-peer connection) that ensures privacy and security,” he adds.
Why NetBird over traditional VPN?
At the heart of its NetBird’s technology is a zero-configuration business VPN that integrates a peer-to-peer, WireGuard-based network with an intuitive access control system.
- Decentralised Connectivity: Unlike traditional VPNs that connect clients to a central server, NetBird creates direct connections between machines for better performance and scalability.
- End-to-End Encryption: NetBird uses WireGuard for end-to-end encryption, ensuring safe communication between devices, protected from third parties, including NetBird itself.
- User-Friendly Access Control: NetBird integrates easily with identity providers like Okta, Microsoft, and Google, simplifying user onboarding and offboarding while enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Reduced Attack Surface: NetBird keeps infrastructure hidden from the public, removing the need for open ports. This provides a more secure network compared to traditional VPNs, which often expose gateways that can be targeted by attackers.
Make advanced network security accessible to everyone
According to Bragin, implementing Zero Trust can be difficult and costly, especially when working with older systems. Vendors often offer no clear value proposition, leaving SMEs uncertain about the return on investment.
“NetBird simplifies Zero Trust adoption with a user-friendly design requiring minimal configuration. It eliminates the need for opening ports, complex firewall rules, or VPN gateways, reducing the technical barriers. It takes less than 5 minutes to get started.”
Additionally, NetBird works with existing solutions, making migration easier. The platform also connects with identity providers, SIEM, and EDR systems. It operates across cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud setups, making it adaptable to any infrastructure.
Business model and revenue projection
NetBird’s business model is a freemium subscription model offering a free plan for small teams and paid plans ($5 or $12/user/month) with scalable features for organisations, targeting secure connectivity and Zero Trust network security.
For enterprise customers, NetBird provides licensing and dedicated support for self-hosted installations.
“Over the next 2 to 3 years, NetBird aims to significantly expand its go-to-market efforts, targeting both existing and new customers, to achieve substantial revenue growth and scale its market presence,” reveals Bragin.
The investors
Nauta is a pan-European VC firm investing in early-stage B2B software companies with offices in London and Barcelona.
With over half a billion assets under management and a team of 24 people, Nauta is one of Europe’s largest B2B-focused VCs.
As a sector-agnostic investor, Nauta’s main areas of interest include B2B SaaS solutions with strong network effects, vertically focused enterprise tech transforming large industries, as well as leveraging deep-tech applications to solve challenges faced by large enterprises.
Nauta has led investments in over 80 companies, including Brandwatch, Danelfin, Techspert, Holded, MishiPay, Wecover, AppFollow, ifeel, and Cledara.
“The rise of remote working and distributed infrastructure has driven significant change to the security requirements for businesses of all kinds. Many have turned to VPNs as a solution to secure their employees’ access to confidential or protected information, but many VPNs are inefficient, costly, and act as a single point of failure for even the largest companies. NetBird solves these challenges by combining a Mesh-VPN architecture with Zero Trust Network Access Controls, providing a solution that is more efficient, cheaper, and more secure than a traditional VPN,” says Carles Ferrer, General Partner at Nauta, commented.
InReach Ventures is an AI-powered venture capital firm focused on early-stage European startups.
The VC develops and uses its proprietary software and AI to discover, evaluate, and support investments, primarily in the areas of consumer internet, SaaS, and marketplaces.
“NetBird’s approach redefines what’s possible in network security,” says Amanda Jones Floyd, Partner at InReach Ventures. “While traditional solutions force companies to choose between security and simplicity, NetBird proves you can have both and do it brilliantly. The way that NetBird has managed to break down complex network security into a beautifully simple, user-friendly product is inspiring. That’s why we’re not just investing in their technology but in their vision and the extraordinary team making it happen.”
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