• The investment round is co-led by the Dutch fund Knight Capital along with the Spanish-Israeli Swanlaab Venture Factory and the CDTI.
• Smart Protection is a Spanish company dedicated to the protection of brands against counterfeits and brand abuse online.
• With this new investment the company will continue adding the best global talent to keep developing its technological platform.

Madrid, November 18, 2020. Smart Protection has closed a Series B funding round worth €10 million, co-led by the Dutch firm Knight Capital, the Spanish-Israeli Swanlaab Venture Factory, specialized in SaaS B2B, alongside CDTI, the Spanish National Innovation Agency.

Existing investors Nauta Capital, JME Ventures, Bankinter, Big Sur Ventures and Telefónica, through their new investment vehicle Telefónica Tech Ventures specialized in the field of cybersecurity, have also participated in the investment process.

Smart Protection has now received funding totaling more than €20 million to combat piracy and counterfeiting on the internet through its technological platform.

Commenting on the investment Javier Perea, the CEO and co-founder of Smart Protection,said "With this investment, we will accelerate our international expansion and broaden our technological solutions to protect brands from reputational damage and the loss of profits that counterfeits online cause.”

Even in times of COVID-19, the Spanish scale-up has experienced rapid growth in 2020, which is reflected in doubling of its turnover compared to 2019 results. Smart Protection currently works with clients across 25 countries, and 76% of its income is generated from companies outside of Spain.

"Piracy and online counterfeiting are a problem on a global scale." Says Diederik Ingen Housz, Managing Partner of Knight Capital. “Smart Protection is one of the few companies in the world with the technology capable of addressing this issue."

Smart Protection continues to form one of the best engineering teams in the world, and this round allows them to continue adding the brightest talent. This in turn will boost the development of its technological platform with the highest level of experience, and the latest advancements in artificial intelligence.

Mark Kavelaars, Managing Partner of Swanlaab Venture Factory states that "We are looking for solid companies formed by teams capable of becoming global leaders in their category, competing with the best technology and with products that generate a positive long-term impact on society. Smart Protection fulfills this purpose, and we believe that it will be the benchmark for its category."

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About Smart Protection

Smart Protection is a technological company dedicated to fighting piracy and online counterfeits. Founded in 2015 and based in Madrid, it protects the content and brands of companies across 25 countries in Europe, the US and LATAM. Smart Protection has received fundings totaling more than €20 million to keep growing globally and developing its technological platform with the latest advances in AI.

About Knight Capital

Knight Capital is a strategic investor in software companies in North West Europe. Founded by former entrepreneurs, we partner with founders to grow their businesses to a meaningful size and exit within 4-6 years. We focus on companies in niche markets that build great products loved by their customers.

About Swanlaab Venture Factory

Swanlaab Venture Factory is a Spanish-Israeli Venture Capital fund based in Madrid and Tel-Aviv. Since 1992, the group has managed more than $640M across seven funds, geographically focusing on Israel, Poland, and Spain. Swanlaab invests in companies in initial stages, mainly during series A rounds, focusing on products and high doses of scalability, where technological differentiation has a relevant weight and with B2B business models. Over the years, the group has made more than 130 investments, with more than 40 successful IPOs, eight of which were listed, and has a current portfolio of 45 companies. In addition to providing financial support to companies, Swanlaab backs their investments with operational support over their international expansion and growth process.

About CDTI

CDTI is the body of the Spanish General State Administration that supports knowledge-based innovation; advising and offering public assistance for innovation through subsidies or partially reimbursable grants. The CDTI also internationalises R&D business projects, corporate innovation of Spanish companies and organisations, and manages the Spanish participation in international R&D organizations, such as Horizon 2020 and Eureka, and in the science and space industries. In addition, through the Innvierte Economia Sostenible initiative, it supports and facilitates the capitalization of technology companies.

About Nauta Capital

Nauta  Capital is a  Pan-European Venture Capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies, with offices in London, Barcelona, and Munich. With over half a billion assets under management and a team of 24 people, Nauta Capital 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 those leveraging deep-tech applications to solve challenges faced by large enterprises. Nauta  has led investments in more than 50 companies including Brandwatch, HappySignals, Marfeel, Nextail, Emjoy, zenloop, Mercaux, Holded, Onna, MishiPay, and Smart Protection.  Find out more at  www.nautacapital.com