Cybersecurity startup Hawcx raises $3m to advance passwordless authentication

Hawcx, a cybersecurity startup focused on passwordless authentication, has raised $3m in a pre-seed funding round.

The investment was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Engineering Capital, with additional backing from seed-stage investor Boldcap.

The company is tackling the persistent security vulnerabilities associated with passwords, which are responsible for over 86% of global data breaches, according to a report from Google. Hawcx’s authentication platform offers seamless security integration using just five lines of code, enabling businesses to enhance user protection while simplifying the login experience. Founded in 2023 by Riya Shanmugam, Selva Kumaraswamy, and Ravi Ramaraju, Hawcx emerged from stealth in April 2024, introducing a self-serve platform that has rapidly gained traction across various industries.

The fresh capital will be used to accelerate product development, expand its team, and scale sales and marketing efforts.

Hawcx co-founder and CEO Riya Shanmugam highlighted the importance of improving authentication processes. “Having witnessed firsthand the high administrative overhead and costs of authentication for both consumers and employees at large organizations, we understand the pressing need for change. While the passwordless authentication market has largely focused on passkeys, which address security concerns, the true challenge lies in usability.

“The user experience with passkeys falls short of what’s needed for widespread adoption. Passwords will soon be a thing of the past, and at Hawcx, we are committed to solve this by delivering a seamless, passwordless authentication experience that not only simplifies security for users but also reduces operational overhead for organizations.”

Engineering Capital founder and managing director Ashmeet Sidana expressed confidence in the company’s vision, stating, “The team at Hawcx has paired a brilliant technical insight with a unique market insight. Their approach to passwordless authentication is solving one of the industry’s most pressing challenges in a uniquely scalable way. We are thrilled to support Hawcx as they reimagine how businesses and users approach authentication, helping them lead in an emerging and essential space of cybersecurity.”