Trillium Inc poised to Eliminate Cyber Threat to Autonomous Cars

Trillium Inc
poised to Eliminate Cyber Threat to Autonomous Cars

– Auto cyber-security start-up in high gear
with closure of Series A financing
– Plans 2018 launch of automotive ‘Security as a Service’ platform 

TOKYO, Feb 16, 2017 – (ACN Newswire) – Tokyo-based Trillium
Inc, a leading contender in the global race to close the cyber-security gap
that threatens to stop self-driving cars in their tracks, today announced the
successful closing of its Series A financing round with investments by lead
investor Global Brain, Mizuho Capital and DBJ Capital.

Tokyo-based Trillium designs and provides
custom, multi-layer adaptive cyber-security systems, focused in the near-term
on automotive needs – but applicable to the entire IoT spectrum.

“With funding now in place, we are set to
move quickly to market with a robust and urgently needed solution,” said
David Uze, Trillium’s CEO. “Hundreds of articles on autonomous driving
appear in the media every day, but almost none mention the elephant in the
room: automakers do not yet have a reliable defense against cyber-threats.
Period. One serious hack could immediately halt progress in automated driving.
But we have the remedy.”

Trillium’s robust, comprehensive and
cost-effective solution secures all three key ‘cyber-threat domains’ in the car
with a software-based approach that is compatible with any architecture or
operating system. And it can be implemented for as little as 1/10th the cost of
competing solutions – most of which are still under development.

“Meanwhile, our multi-layered solution is
at an advanced stage,” Uze said. “We have moved into the real-world
testing phase via partnerships with a legendary Japanese Super GT racing team
and a leading maker of automotive semiconductors. We are now having in-depth
discussions with several major automakers and tier-one suppliers. We’re ready
to implement whenever they are.

“With this new investment,” Uze elaborated,
“we intend to move ahead, quickly but prudently, on several fronts – 
– Accelerate development and deployment of our
Automotive IoT cyber-security platforms: ‘SecureCAR’ and ‘SecureIoT.’
– Expand in-vehicle implementation and testing
of cyber-security retrofits on current-model connected vehicles.
– Expand business operations in Silicon Valley.
– Establish a satellite penetration testing and
engineering hub in Michigan, USA.

“Trillium’s solution provides three solid
and distinctive advantages,” Uze continued. 

“One – where competitors offer a single
firewall, we provide multi-layered defense-in-depth. 

“Two – since defense must continually
evolve, our infrastructure will deliver Security as a Service (SaaS) via
real-time-update platforms that automakers or insurers can on-sell to car
owners. We plan beta deployment in early 2018 and full commercialization by
2020.

“Three – our software-based approach is not
only the lowest-cost solution on the horizon, for manufacturers the SaaS model
shifts it from fixed cost to revenue generator.”

Trillium’s Series A investors expressed their
confidence in the company’s prospects:

Yasuhiko Yurimoto, president and CEO of lead
investor Global Brain, said, “We are confident that Trillium will be a
great success because their solution is at an advanced stage and it meets three
key criteria: robust security, universal applicability and low cost.”

Hajime Saito, president of Mizuho Capital Co.
Ltd., said, “As we move rapidly into the era of connected cars and the
IoT, cyber-security is becoming an urgent priority, and we are confident that
Trillium’s solution is a timely and effective response.”

Fumiyuki Kashima, president & CEO of DBJ
Capital Co. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Development Bank of Japan),
said, “Just as today’s connected cars have made cyber-security an
imperative, Trillium has emerged as a global leader in developing software
solutions to meet this urgent need. At the DBJ Group we anticipate that
Trillium will be very successful worldwide and we will do our utmost to ensure
its success.”

As Trillium moves into its next phase – rolling
out a comprehensive, subscription-based security solution for all segments of
the transportation industry – the company will consider executing a Series B
investment round in the near future. 

Trillium Inc. was founded in 2014 with a team of
executives and engineers from Japan, Europe and the U.S. with extensive
experience in relevant fields, backed by lead investment from Global Brain, a
Tokyo-based venture capitalist.

For further details, please visit :www.trillium.co.jp.