Bentonville-based Bastazo, which emerged from Department of Energy-funded research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, has secured a venture capital investment from Cortado Ventures of Oklahoma City.
Though a figure of $5.3 million was circulating online, Bastazo told Whispers that the number is not accurate. The company did not disclose the correct amount, but it did say Cortado Ventures is its lead investor.
Bastazo recently gained national attention when the DOE highlighted its cybersecurity toolset, V-INT, for energy utilities. The company is leading the commercialization of the V-INT platform, which uses artificial intelligence to help utility companies simulate cyberattacks, pinpoint vulnerabilities and protect operational technology equipment.
V-INT has already been incorporated into Bastazo’s software, as well as into Network Perception of Chicago, which offers network security analysis for infrastructure companies. That company is a subsidiary of Dragos, a major industrial cybersecurity company out of Maryland.
Philip Huff, Bastazo’s chief scientist and co-founder, told Whispers that Cortado’s backing as well as the DOE’s funding “speeds our move to full-scale deployment and growing high-tech jobs in Arkansas, while strengthening critical infrastructure nationwide.”
Bastazo previously secured $1 million in funding after completing an AI-focused residency program in San Francisco.
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