The startup NetBird, supported by the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, has secured €8.5 million from private investors. Just under four months after the first Series A financing of a startup within the CISPA Incubator, the second now follows with NetBird. The funding round is led by Pace Capital, with participation from Nauta, InReach Ventures, and Antler.
NetBird had already raised seed funding of €4 million in 2024. Through support from CISPA, the company also received nearly €800,000 in public funding in 2023 from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (now the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space).
Founded in 2021 by Mikhail Bragin and Maycon Santos, NetBird develops an open-source network security platform based on WireGuard® that replaces complex VPN and firewall configurations with a simple, software-defined approach.
NetBird positions its platform as a European alternative to U.S. providers and it is already used across industries, including by startups, enterprises, and public-sector organizations. Customers such as Sport Alliance, netgo, Signicat, and VIEW Group now rely on NetBird for secure network access across teams and infrastructures.
Rather than focusing on traditional sales channels, the startup emphasizes its community and open-source transparency. This is also reflected in NetBird’s 21,000 stars on GitHub. Misha Bragin, CEO and co-founder, explains:
“Network security in enterprises has traditionally been hidden behind long sales cycles and endless demos before teams could experience real value. We changed that model. At NetBird, the codename of our go-to-market strategy is ‘Proof of Concept Starts at Home,’ meaning users can try the product for free and with minimal effort to experience its value directly in their private homelabs before deploying it in production. Our community has become our strongest advocate and shapes the product far more than traditional marketing ever could.”
About NetBird:
NetBird is a software company developing an open-source zero-trust network security platform that is easy to use and affordable for teams of any size and budget. The company’s mission is based on a simple yet powerful belief: secure private networking is a fundamental right for every modern organization.
Since its launch on GitHub in 2021, NetBird has resonated with thousands of companies seeking secure and seamless solutions to connect remote employees and infrastructure. By replacing traditional business VPNs, NetBird has established itself as a trusted solution for modern network security and remote access, today connecting hundreds of thousands of users and machines worldwide. Find out more at netbird.io
About CISPA and the Startup Incubator:
The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is an internationally renowned research center for cybersecurity, achieving groundbreaking advances in fundamental research. At the same time, it is establishing itself as a hub for innovation and disruptive solutions that transfer scientific insights into the economy. Through the products and services of CISPA startups, scientific progress reaches the market and makes a sustainable contribution to societal development. The CISPA Incubator supports young companies in the field of cybersecurity in bringing their projects to market maturity. Startups benefit not only from support in raising funding, but also from access to the extensive CISPA community network and opportunities to connect with the center’s leading researchers.
