A Pittsburgh startup that keeps health data safe is expanding, thanks to a $2M DataTribe seed investment

Ken Zalevsky spent 20 years working in medical device cybersecurity, where he observed the consequences of healthcare institutions lacking adequate technical preparation. Thanks to a recent investment, the Murrysville-based startup he now leads plans to further its mission of keeping products secure while growing its footprint.

Since 2019, Vigilant Ops has been providing an automation platform for the generation, maintenance and authenticated sharing of certified software bill of materials, aka SBOM. Thanks to a new $2 million seed investment from DataTribe, a Fulton, Maryland-based cyber firm that invests in cybersecurity and data sciences companies, Vigilant Ops’ leadership says the company will be able to not only further its mission, but branch out from its usual sectors.

The funding comes after Vigilant Ops won the sixth annual DataTribe Challenge over four other finalists in November. A recent SEC filing also notes a raise of $4.85 million; a spokesperson for the company said this total includes the $2 million from DataTribe, plus “the conversion of existing internal notes into equity at the time of the investment.”

DataTribe’s investment will enable the company to scale its platform, CEO Zalevsky told Technical.ly. So will the firm’s mentorship.

“They provide strategic guidance along the way to these companies, and so we’re really fortunate to not only have the investment, but to have the expertise to help us grow the company,” he said.

Vigilant Ops’ customers have typically come from the healthcare sector, said Zalevsky, who is a former Bayer exec. With more resources, he hopes the company will be able to serve clients in other industries, such as IT and energy telecommunications.

Vigilant Ops is a relatively small operation, with only three full-time employees — a chief technology officer, a chief revenue officer and CEO — based in Pittsburgh, and 15 employees working remotely, mostly in Philadelphia. Other Vigilant Ops employees work on the development team, project management, or as software engineers.

With this influx of cash, the company’s leaders aim to hire more.

“We’re working on hiring plans now, but I can see us at least doubling the size of folks that we have today,” Zalevsky said. “So [we’re] not quite exactly sure where we’ll end up at the end of the year, but I can say we’ll be scaling and growing, just because we’ve got so much demand. And we need the help.”

All of the company’s plans moving forward are focused on ensuring that industries are safe and secure from cyber threats.

“We’re on a mission to secure products in a better way. I had seen [the need] for multiple years of dealing with cybersecurity in the medical space, and we still see it today,” Zalevsky said. “Hospitals are being hacked and breaches [are] occurring, data [are] being lost, and in some cases, even patients [are] being put in harm’s way. So the idea for us is safety and security across all industries.”