SandGrain BV, an Eindhoven based start-up that focuses on ‘Trusted Authentication’, a new solution for security and circularity - is pleased to announce that they have completed a €1,3 Million seed investment round.  

Why trusted authentication matters: Due to the ever-increasing connectivity of systems worldwide, linked to the continuously extending (Industrial) Internet-of-Things (IIoT), trustworthiness of the identity of any connected system is fundamental for required cybersecurity. Trusted Authentication, the undisputed verification of an identity, is the cornerstone of this vulnerable ecosystem that currently lacks any well-established, robust standard, determining how the different parts of the network are identified. Authentication that is dearly required before valuable data is exchanged, or critical operations are commanded. Due to this lack of proper authentication, today’s connected systems are frequently hacked; and modules are either illegally copied and/or untraceable throughout their lifecycle for proper recycling. Currently this means that these connected systems suffer from unverified configurations, risk becoming unreliable, and their maintenance is unnecessarily expensive.

At SandGrain we offer the integrated solution for trusted authentication of all connected systems. This is achieved through the combination of simple, immutable, unique, hard-coded ICs, together with a centralised cloud platform that guarantees and manages the IoT node identities. Such a solution enables system owners to verify the integral system configuration at any desired moment. Which, for instance, could be necessary to perform a secure download of new firmware. Once implemented, the system owner also has full control over the lifecycle status of every identified module throughout its entire lifetime up to end-of-life for proper recyclability.  Our solution is broadly applicable and infinitely scalable, potentially serving billions of identities.

Pieter Hooijmans, SandGrain founder and CTO, says: “When one targets a solution that can be deployed globally, being infinitely scalable, while providing secure solutions, it must be designed robustly with risks minimised. With our team of industry veterans, complementing each other’s different technology domains, SandGrain is uniquely positioned to make this happen”.  

“We are excited to invest in SandGrain because we see great potential in their disruptive approach to enhancing security in the fast growing industrial ‘Internet of Things’ applications. In addition, we believe that the team has the potential to play a crucial role in the deployment of circular economy concepts across various industries.”; said Guus Frericks managing partner of VC-fund DeeptechXL - Dutch deep-tech investment fund, which has declared their commitment to invest in ‘trusted authentication’.