Energy-focused cyber firm Xage raises $30 million

Xage, a company that aims to secure operational components of the electrical grid, announced Wednesday it has raised $30 million in a Series B round of financing.

Why it matters: There is increased interest in improving the security of the grid's operational assets following a year that featured escalating cyberattacks, including the shutdown of a major oil pipeline.

The big picture: New federal regulations put in place are also encouraging companies to take a closer look at hardening more than just software.

• Xage's products employ a zero-trust architecture, which prevents a user from roaming freely throughout a network by constantly rechecking their credentials.
• This differs from more traditional ways of securing power plants and pipelines, which rests on perimeter security, such as firewalls, to keep bad actors out, Xage CEO Duncan Greatwood told Axios in an interview.
• "The way that they've tended to work is there's a big lock on the door. So you kind of have to know the combination of that lock to get inside," he said.

Yes, but: This approach has huge drawbacks. "If you get through that big door, you know that every door after that is unlocked," Greatwood said. "You can access anything you want from there."

Details: Xage currently has 45 employees and counts the U.S. Space Force, Air Force, Saudi Aramco and ComEd among its customers.

• The company sees renewables, including securing grid balancing data and energy storage units, as a growth area.
• The Series B is led by Piva, a San Francisco-based VC firm investing in solving industrial challenges. Momenta, Valor Equity Partners, Our Crowd, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and others also participated.