defguard — Now VC backed

Just a few months after launching its Enterprise platform offering, Defguard has earned the trust of some of the world’s most demanding organizations. The solution is already in use by major automotive corporations, NASCAR teams, manufacturing plants, data centers and cloud providers, game developers, venture capital funds, as well as numerous government institutions and public entities across the EU.

This impressive adoption confirms Defguard’s position as a trusted business solution for managing remote access, WireGuard®-based VPN, and Zero Trust infrastructure — fully open-source and ready for both on-premise and cloud deployments.

To fully leverage this momentum, Defguard has established strategic partnerships with top open-source and IT security experts in Poland and secured significant pre-seed funding of EUR 1.2 million.

The funding round is led by Hard2beat, a fund backed by Maciej Zawadziński, the creator of Piwik PRO’s success. Maciej brings invaluable experience in building open-source products and is actively involved in the company’s growth.

Investors also include Maurycy Prodeus and Janusz Niewiadomski — co-founders of ISEC, one of the most renowned IT security firms in Poland. Notably, ISEC is also joining the capital round, supporting Defguard not only financially but also with expert technological & security expertise.

Other investors include SMOK Ventures and S20 Team, with additional capital provided by business angels from the cybersecurity and IT sectors, including:

  • Łukasz Jesis, founder of Xopero – a European leader in backup and data recovery, who is personally engaged in providing strategic business support.

  • Piotr Karwatka and Tomasz Karwatka – experienced founders and among the most active business angels in the CEE region.

“We created Defguard to give organizations full control over their data & infrastructure — in a secure, flexible way, without vendor lock-in,” says Robert Olejnik, CEO of Defguard. “The trust of such prestigious clients and the support of industry leaders is a huge motivation and validation of our chosen path.”

Robert at Hard2beat Connect, talking about Defguard.

The EUR 1.2 million raised will be used to further develop the product, support international customer success, and expand the platform based on client needs.

About Defguard

Defguard is an enterprise-ready platform for managing remote connections based on the WireGuard® VPN, identity, and access control. The solution supports synchronization with corporate LDAP and Active Directory systems, as well as policy-based access aligned with Zero Trust principles.

Media Contact:

Robert Olejnik
CEO, Defguard
robert@defguard.net
defguard.net