SGNL, a cybersecurity startup focused on zero-standing privilege (ZSP) access management, has secured $30 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Brightmind Partners, a new VC firm specializing in cybersecurity, with participation from Microsoft’s M12, Cisco Investments, and Costanoa Ventures (which led their seed round in 2022). This latest investment brings SGNL’s total funding to $42 million.
A New Approach to Identity Security
With identity becoming the new perimeter in cybersecurity, the company is tackling vulnerabilities caused by persistent access credentials. Instead of relying on static permissions, SGNL’s platform ensures that access is granted dynamically based on real-time conditions.
The zero-standing privilege model (ZSP) eliminates unnecessary access risks by:
- Automatically revoking access when it’s no longer needed
- Requiring real-time context for authentication
- Reducing attack surfaces from leaked or stolen credentials
The company’s customers include major enterprises in media, entertainment, and tech, using the platform to manage identity access across complex cloud environments.
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Born from Google’s Internal Security Challenges
SGNL was founded by Scott Kriz (CEO) and Erik Gustavson (CPO), who previously built Bitium, an identity management startup acquired by Google in 2017. During their time at Google, they realized that existing identity solutions failed to automatically close access after an employee’s role changed or a task was completed.
CEO Scott Kriz explained:
“Companies were great at opening doors, but not at closing them. Our goal is to ensure that access is granted only when needed and revoked automatically when no longer required.”
Building on Open Standards for Broad Adoption
The technology is built on the Continuous Access Evaluation Protocol (CAEP), a framework co-developed by Atul Tulshibagwale, SGNL’s current CTO and a former Google security architect. CAEP has been adopted by Microsoft, Apple, and Cisco, making SGNL’s approach compatible with major enterprise security frameworks.
Scaling with Fresh Funding
With this new investment, the firm plans to:
- Expand its go-to-market strategy and onboard more Fortune 500 clients
- Enhance AI-driven access management tools to improve real-time decision-making
- Grow its engineering team to refine its identity security platform
Competing in the Growing Zero-Trust Security Market
The startup joins a competitive field alongside companies like CyberArk and SailPoint, which are also advancing zero-trust and identity security models. However, investors believe SGNL’s deep expertise, Google roots, and industry-standard integration give it a unique edge.
Stephen Ward, Founder of Brightmind Partners, noted:
“They’re not just another cybersecurity startup; they’re defining a new category of real-time identity security. This is a company that can build a massive moat by leading the shift toward zero-standing privilege access.”
With identity breaches costing enterprises billions annually, SGNL’s innovative approach could become a critical layer in modern cybersecurity strategies, ensuring that access is always secure, temporary, and conditional.
