Evertrust, a pioneering cybersecurity company specializing in sovereign digital identity solutions, has recently raised €10 million in funding. Led by Elephant, the investment supports Evertrust’s ambitious growth plans to scale its proprietary technology and solidify its role as a key player in Europe’s digital trust infrastructure.
As someone who sees Europe’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as brimming with potential, I view this milestone as not just another funding announcement, but a steppingstone for Europe to reclaim control over its cybersecurity and identity sovereignty. Here’s why this matters to entrepreneurs, just like us, trying to build brands that last and protect user trust.
What Does Evertrust Offer and Why Does It Matter?
Evertrust is addressing a challenge many European entrepreneurs overlook, control over digital identity and trust data. At its core, the company provides two integrated tools: Stream™, a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solution for managing digital certificates, and Horizon™, a Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform that automates the entire lifecycle from issuance to renewal.
Certificates are critical to secure online operations. With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, Europe’s reliance on non-European PKI providers puts sensitive data at risk. Evertrust’s commitment to building quantum-resistant certificates ensures its systems will withstand future cyber threats. If you’re an entrepreneur, this demonstrates the importance of future-proofing your tech stack. Learn more about Europe's transition to quantum security on Tech Funding News.
What’s Next for Evertrust?
This funding enables Evertrust to triple its sales and technical teams within five years. For founders scaling their startups, calculate what doubling or tripling your workforce means in terms of team culture, skill gaps, and onboarding hurdles. The company also plans to extend its partnerships with European security providers and expand its network beyond France. They’re not just growing, they’re dominating a niche in an underserved market.
Lessons for Female Entrepreneurs in STEM
Playing in traditionally male-dominated sectors like cybersecurity or AI often presents roadblocks beyond fundraising. What’s refreshing is Evertrust’s focus on regulatory compliance through eIDAS and quantum-resistant technologies while pushing forward cutting-edge product development. As women entering STEM, there’s one rule I live by: combine technical depth with business foresight. Evertrust’s founders have done just that by addressing the shrinking lifespan of digital certificates, set to drop from 398 days to just 47 by 2029. Building solutions anchored in real market predictions strengthens credibility. Curious about Evertrust’s story? Visit their official site for product details.
The Common Blind Spots Entrepreneurs Must Overcome
1. Ignoring compliance issues: Evertrust proves that aligning with regulations like eIDAS creates market entry barriers for competitors while fostering trust. Founders who dismiss compliance miss out on competitive advantages.
2. Over-hiring without clear onboarding: Scaling teams sounds glorious, but not every hire will align with the founder’s vision, especially when tripling headcount. Entrepreneurs need actionable hiring frameworks.
3. Underestimating cybersecurity in operations: Whether you’re in beauty tech or SaaS, securing customer data builds trust. Overlook it, and you risk undoing years of progress overnight.
How to Take Action
If Evertrust’s success resonates with your goals as a founder:
- Audit your business’s digital trust dependencies. What third-party vendors handle your cybersecurity? Evaluate options for sovereign solutions.
- Investigate scalable tools for compliance. Evertrust’s quantum-resistant focus is an example of aligning products with foresight-driven strategies.
- Plan your growth roadmap with strong foundations. Expansion without clear operational frameworks often leads to disorganized scaling efforts.
Deep Insights from the Ecosystem
While Evertrust’s funding strengthens Europe’s sovereignty push, similar efforts like eIDAS 2.0 are driving interoperable ID ecosystems. Entrepreneurs should stay ahead of self-sovereign identity trends to design products that align with borderless standards. For example, Bulgaria’s Evrotrust is also scaling innovative digital ID solutions, you can explore more about their funding via Evrotrust's investment details.
From My Perspective
As someone running the Fe/male Switch, building ecosystems where female entrepreneurs thrive remains my passion. Cybersecurity may give off an air of complexity, but breaking into sectors like this equips us with tools to not only lead startups but also propel movements toward balanced gender representation in STEM. Evertrust's funding amplifies opportunities, not just for them but for anyone aiming to disrupt traditional tech spaces with ideas rooted in user trust and sovereignty.
Conclusion
Evertrust’s €10 million signal a broader wave in Europe’s quest for control over cybersecurity and sovereignty in digital identity. For entrepreneurs, female founders, and tech creators, learning from Evertrust’s journey could illuminate ways to combine product-market fit solutions with forward-looking strategies. Sovereignty in technology isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a foundation for building enduring businesses.
FAQ
1. What is Evertrust, and what does it specialize in?
Evertrust is a French cybersecurity company founded in 2017 that specializes in sovereign digital identity solutions, focusing on digital certificates and lifecycle management. Learn more about Evertrust
2. What products does Evertrust offer?
Evertrust offers two main products, Stream™, a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solution, and Horizon™, a Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform, to manage and automate digital certificates. Discover Evertrust's products
3. How much funding did Evertrust recently raise?
Evertrust raised €10 million in their Series A funding round, led by Elephant to expand their digital trust solutions across Europe. Learn more about Evertrust’s €10 million funding
4. What is the significance of Evertrust's funding for Europe?
The funding strengthens the role of European companies in creating sovereign digital trust infrastructures, reducing reliance on non-European cybersecurity providers. Explore Europe’s digital sovereignty
5. What security standards does Evertrust comply with?
Evertrust adheres to eIDAS, NIST, and ANSSI certification standards, ensuring high security and compliance with European regulations.
6. What is Evertrust’s future growth plan?
The company plans to triple its technical and sales teams within five years and expand partnerships and market reach across Europe. Learn about Evertrust's expansion goals
7. What makes Evertrust unique compared to its competitors?
Evertrust is the only European company offering an integrated, cloud-native solution for both PKI and CLM, providing a comprehensive platform for managing digital certificates.
8. Why is quantum-resistant technology important for Evertrust's products?
Evertrust focuses on quantum-resistant certificates to future-proof digital infrastructures against next-generation cybersecurity threats. Discover post-quantum transition in Europe
9. How does Evertrust support Europe’s transition to digital sovereignty?
Evertrust’s solutions are designed to strengthen digital trust and security infrastructure in Europe, adhering to strict compliance standards like eIDAS for sovereignty.
10. Where can I learn more about Evertrust's impact in Europe’s cybersecurity?
To learn more about Evertrust’s solutions and funding impact, visit their official website or check out Tech Funding News.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.