Cybersecurity specialist Ploy bags £2.5 million in funding to tackle identity related breaches problem

UK cybersecurity startup Ploy has raised £2.5 million in a funding round led by Osney Capital, with participation from Superseed, Tiny.vc and Rule30.

This is alongside angels including Johnathan Scudder (co-founder of ForgeRock), Alastair Paterson and James Chappell (co-founders of Digital Shadows), Mark Ryan (VP of Product Management at ZScaler), Jonathan Tom (VP of GTM Enablement at Rapid7), Tony Pepper and Neil Larkins (co-founders of Egress) and Charles Delingpole ((co-founder of ComplyAdvantage, MarketFinance, and The Student Room).

“Identity sprawl has become a significant issue for organisations of all shapes and sizes, but particularly those with modern technology stacks; which often comprise hundreds, or even thousands, of SaaS applications” says Joshua Walter, Partner at Osney Capital, who will join Ploy's board.

“This breadth causes fragmented and distributed access and ownership of identity, without unified visibility or control, and is typically enabled using role-base access controls. Ploy’s just-in-time approach to access, making all access temporary by default, and identifying risks centrally in real-time, is becoming the only approach that scales with modern threats, ways of working and technology stacks.”

Ploy's customer base includes companies like Payfit, Not On The High Street, Welcome to the Jungle, ComplyAdvantage, Liberis, and Times Higher Education.

“With 80% of breaches now stemming from identity, boards are realising it’s the biggest area they need to prioritise in their security strategy,” says Jacob Prime, CEO and Co-founder at Ploy. “Spreadsheet-based access tracking is now a legal and security liability. They need real-time visibility into who has access to what, before attackers or regulators find the gaps. That’s exactly the problem Ploy solves."

The company says that it has doubled revenue with four employees, having raised in 2024 from angels. This new round of funding will accelerate Ploy's product development and scale its go to market.

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Startups will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now closed for entries with our finalists and shortlists being announced last week, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.