Cigent was founded by Tony Fessel, Greg Scasny, John Benkert in 2018.

Who are Cigent's investors?

Cigent's investors include In-Q-Tel, WestWave Capital.

How much funding has Cigent raised?

Cigent has disclosed $3.3M raised across 2 rounds.

Where is Cigent headquartered?

Cigent is headquartered in Fort Myers, US.

Cigent

Fort Myers, US · Founded 2018 · 27 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors

Cigent develops data-at-rest security technology, including SSDs, firmware, and software, to protect data throughout its lifecycle against advanced data recovery and exfiltration. It serves defense, government, and commercial organizations, with solutions validated by US agencies such as NSA, NIAP, and DISA.

Cybersecurity Data & Infrastructure Defense Tech Hardware

Founders & leadership

Cigent was founded in 2018 by Tony Fessel, Greg Scasny, and John Benkert.

Tony FesselCo-founder

Greg ScasnyCo-founder

John BenkertCo-Founder

Brett Hansen

Tom Ricoy

Bradley A. RoweNamed on SEC filing

Stephen NicolNamed on SEC filing

Investors · 2

In-Q-Tel✓ verifiedTysons · $100K – $2.5M

WestWave Capital✓ verifiedRedwood City

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$3.3M disclosed across 2 rounds · 2018

▶$2.5MraisedJul 2018 · 20 investors · Other Technology

Rule 506(b)

Officers, directors & promoters on the filing

Greg ScasnyExecutive Officer
Tony FesselExecutive Officer
Bradley A. RoweExecutive Officer, Director
Stephen NicolExecutive Officer, Director
John BenkertExecutive Officer, Director

Offering amount: $2.5M
Amount sold: $2.5M
First sale: Jun 2018
Incorporated: Corporation, Delaware, 2018
Federal exemptions: 06b

Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

▶$825KraisedJul 2018 · 14 investors · Other Technology

Rule 506(b)

Officers, directors & promoters on the filing

Bradley A. RoweExecutive Officer, Director
Tony FesselExecutive Officer
Greg ScasnyExecutive Officer
John BenkertExecutive Officer, Director
Stephen NicolExecutive Officer, Director

Offering amount: $825K
Amount sold: $825K
First sale: Apr 2018
Incorporated: Corporation, Delaware, 2018
Federal exemptions: 06b

Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Competitors · 10

by search overlap

Netezza64 shared keywordsIBM is a global technology company whose business spans enterprise software (including Red Hat, HashiCorp, and Confluent), IT infrastructure such as mainframes, servers, and storage, and IT consulting services. The company is also investing heavily in quantum computing and AI-based enterprise offerings, including its Lightwell open-source software security clearinghouse and the Anderon quantum wafer foundry.

Palo Alto Networks63 shared keywordsPalo Alto Networks provides cybersecurity platforms and services to protect organizations' digital infrastructure across cloud, network, and security operations. The company serves enterprise organizations, governments, financial institutions, utilities, and healthcare providers globally.

Check Point Software59 shared keywordsCheck Point Software Technologies is a cybersecurity company providing security products and solutions. This page is its investor relations section, containing annual reports, SEC filings, financial results, and corporate governance information.

ArrowPoint39 shared keywordsCisco provides networking, data center, and security technology for enterprises, including infrastructure to run traditional and AI workloads and tools to keep organizations running against cyberattacks and outages. Its platform connects networking devices and monitors security events across corporate networks.

Crowdstrike34 shared keywordsCrowdStrike provides an AI-native cybersecurity platform that unifies endpoint, identity, cloud, SaaS, and AI protection to detect and stop breaches for enterprise organizations. It combines automated response with human-led security operations including managed detection and response, threat hunting, and security services.

Aeluros34 shared keywordsConsumer online privacy and security solutions; acquired by Opera and later Symantec.

Sentinel One32 shared keywordsSentinelOne provides an AI-powered cybersecurity platform for enterprises that integrates endpoint protection, threat detection, and incident response capabilities. The company serves large enterprises, including many Fortune 500 organizations, to protect against cyber threats at scale.

Upguard32 shared keywordsUpGuard provides a platform for managing cybersecurity risk, including third-party vendor and supply chain risk assessment. It is aimed at organizations seeking to evaluate and monitor the security posture of their vendors.

Acronis29 shared keywordsAcronis provides a cloud-native platform for managed service providers (MSPs) offering cyber protection, data backup and recovery, endpoint security, and governed AI productivity services. Its offerings serve service providers across more than 150 countries, with integrated tools for data protection, threat detection, and managed AI capabilities.

BeyondTrust (Bomgar Corporation)27 shared keywordsBeyondTrust provides privilege-centric identity security through its Pathfinder platform, helping organizations manage privileged access and defend against external attacks and insider threats. Its products cover the identity attack surface for enterprise customers, including AI agent security.

Companies competing with Cigent for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Non-dilutive funding · 2 SBIR/STTR awards

Federal grants — no equity taken

Agency	Phase	Year	Amount
U.S. Air ForceAir Force	Phase II	2020	$1.5M
U.S. Air ForceAir Force	Phase I	2020	$50K

Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.

Frequently asked questions

What does Cigent do?: Cigent develops data-at-rest security technology, including SSDs, firmware, and software, to protect data throughout its lifecycle against advanced data recovery and exfiltration. It serves defense, government, and commercial organizations, with solutions validated by US agencies such as NSA, NIAP, and DISA.
Who founded Cigent?: Cigent was founded by Tony Fessel, Greg Scasny, John Benkert in 2018.
Who are Cigent's investors?: Cigent's investors include In-Q-Tel, WestWave Capital.
How much funding has Cigent raised?: Cigent has disclosed $3.3M raised across 2 rounds.
Where is Cigent headquartered?: Cigent is headquartered in Fort Myers, US.