Our Story
When James Hadley first scribbled down his idea, he had no idea it would later become a platform that the likes of Goldman Sachs and Summit Partners would want to invest in. This is our story…
A brief history
After delivering GCHQ’s cyber summer school, James realised that passive classroom-based training suited neither the people nor the pace of cybersecurity. The content dated quickly, and its one-dimensional nature meant the creative minds in the room quickly disengaged. He knew that a practical online solution was needed – one that would allow learners to continuously hone their skills, get to grips with new threats, and become familiar with the latest tools and techniques. In short, they needed a platform that would help them keep up with the attackers.
On the flip side, businesses have never struggled more to ensure their security teams are well resourced, well trained, and well prepared. Their focus has been on building their tech stacks – not on the people behind the screens. As a result, the skills shortage is only growing as security teams are overworked and undertrained, and organizations are left scrambling to catch up with the ever-shifting threat landscape.
Enter Immersive Labs.
Immersive Labs enables organizations to evidence their cyber capability, risk and resilience across technical and non-technical teams for the first time. Our platform gives the ability to measure real-time cyber efficacy as it relates to cyber teams, developers, engineers and executives. All in one platform, kept up to date at the speed of cyber. We call this Cyber Workforce Optimization.
We’ve grown to over 300 employees across the UK, US and EMEA, with hubs in Bristol, UK and Boston, MA. To date, we’ve secured $123 million in investment from Insight Partners, Menlo Ventures, Citi Ventures, Summit Partners and Goldman Sachs. Our technology is already helping over 300 enterprises around the world, including AirBnB, P&G, Citibank, Sophos and the NHS, while around 5,000 labs are completed every single day.
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Founded
January 2017Immersive Labs is founded by James Hadley! Our very first office – a shipping container at Bristol’s Boxworks – is opened. -
1st Platform Launched
May 2017The first iteration of our platform is launched just in time for us to release a lab on one of the biggest security incidents of the 21st century: Wannacry. -
Growing Team
March 2018Our team grows to 20. We have well and truly outgrown the shipping container, so we move up the road to Hartwell House, Bristol. -
1st Investment
June 2018We secure an $8m investment from Goldman Sachs and celebrate with our first (infamous) Quarterly Business Review Party. -
Grow to new space
October 2018Our team grows to 50 and we move into Runway East to accommodate all the new faces! -
US Office
July 2019We launch in the US! Our first home across the pond is in Boston, MA, and we set to growing the team even more. -
Series B
November 2019Now this is a big one! We raise $40M in Series B funding through Summit Partners and our existing investor Goldman Sachs. -
100th Employee
January 2020We welcome our 100th employee, just three years after employee number 1. Watch the video here -
We go remote
March 2020Overnight, we switch to a fully remote workforce. All 130 of us on both sides of the Atlantic are set up at home, ready to tackle life and work under lockdown. -
Life’s too short
September 2020Our fully remote team of 150 get the chance to try something new as part of our ‘You Only Live Once’ perk. -
Secured 75M in Series C Investment
June 2021We've raised $75M to harness data insights for workforce-wide cyber skills -
We’re ecstatic to be one of Comparably’s Top 25 Happiest workplaces!
October 2021This award is extra special as it was assessed by anonymous employee reviews over the last 12 months, covering feedback around our work environment, pay, benefits, mental health, investment in company goals, interaction with colleagues, and pride in working at Immersive Labs.
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300th employee
January 2022We welcome Immerser 300! -
What comes next?
April 2022