WHY WE INVESTED: REPLICA
DIGITAL WORK AND THE CYBER BATTLEFIELD IS EVOLVING
As the internet-connected world evolves, so do the threats. High-risk activities like cybercrime investigations, malware analysis, and even secure development are increasingly vulnerable to, and targeted by, sophisticated attacks, making it harder for companies to maintain control and security. The shift to hybrid and remote work expanded vulnerabilities, making traditional security measures insufficient to protect sensitive data across various devices and locations.
YESTERDAY'S DEFENSES WON'T PROTECT TOMORROW
Traditional tools like VPNs, firewalls, and private browsers only provide partial protection, and fail to fully safeguard high-risk activities. These outdated solutions leave critical security gaps, exposing organizations to potential data breaches.
Many cybersecurity solutions may offer broad protection, but they fail to address the specific needs of high-risk activities. On the other hand, fragmented solutions that are often “home grown” lack the flexibility, scalability, and specialization needed for complex, multi-environment setups. Protecting sensitive information and the teams working on it demands more than general solutions—it requires a specialized approach tailored to the complexities of high-risk activities, while giving control and freedom to the users and providing comprehensive observability.
REDEFINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF AUTOMATION
TO PROTECT AND ENABLE HIGH-RISK ACTIVITY
Replica is addressing these vulnerabilities head-on by focusing on the protection and enabling of high-risk activities through Secure Environments as a Service (SEaaS).
The Replica platform creates secure and realistic IT environments that includes hardware, operating systems, applications, networks, and data layers. Combining automation, Zero Trust security, and patented technology across cloud, on-prem, bare metal, mobile, and hybrid systems, Replica ensures critical activities stay safe and isolated. Their integrated platform replaces disjointed tools, streamlining security management and scalability across all environments.
Replica provides Control through next-gen Security and Environment Automation
Replica is offered as a SaaS product and on-prem as needed. Its flexible architecture supports rapid deployment, seamless integration with enterprise tools like single-sign-on and proxies, and continuous update. This flexibility enables enterprises to expand environments and use-cases securely without disrupting workflows. With setup times in hours instead of days or weeks, Replica accelerates onboarding and empowers immediate, secure collaboration that safeguards mission-critical operations across diverse environments. On top of all this, the platform also provides robust audit and reporting tools to ensure regulatory compliance and delivers critical observability for its users.
POWERING MISSION–CRITICAL SECURITY USE CASES
A powerful use case of Replica is its ability to secure high-risk activities in numerous industries, including financial services, healthcare institutions, global consulting firms, and government sector. Their clients use Replica to perform high-risk activities, like targeting Russian misinformation campaigns in Ukraine, performing safe testing of AI or other new technology with proprietary data, disrupting financial scams and fraud aimed at seniors, and identifying and mitigating insider threats within organizations. The categories of use cases is broad, and also include: secure research activities (including deep and dark web analysis, social media monitoring, automated data collection, and OSINT), isolating technologies and operations related to mergers and acquisitions, advanced malware and unknown file analysis through sandboxing, creating sophisticated training environments, supporting fraud and cybersecurity investigations, safeguarding DevOps processes with robust data controls, protecting and sharing intellectual property, and other related functions.
Replica perfectly fits with AFG’s strategy of backing cutting-edge, proprietary technology that addresses specific, high-impact use cases in financial services while offering cross-sector versatility.
BUILT BY EXPERTS WHO'VE SEEN IT ALL
Building a solution like Replica requires more than just technical know-how—it demands deep expertise, a nuanced understanding of complex threats, and the ability to see vulnerabilities from a perspective few can grasp. This kind of insight comes from years on the front lines, defending against the most advanced cyber threats in the world. That’s exactly the background behind the founders, Kristopher and Ryan.
Their journey began at Booz Allen Hamilton, where they led nation-state cyber-counterintelligence efforts, confronting the failures of traditional security tools head-on. These failures didn’t just shape their thinking—they drove them to create Replica, designed to solve the very problems they encountered. Their combination of technical expertise and market knowledge makes them uniquely suited to steer the company in revolutionizing how high-risk environments are secured.
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SECURE DIGITAL WORLDS
Replica has already built a reputation for excellence, securing major clients in enterprise and government. Their company’s numerous patents provide a formidable competitive moat, reinforcing AFG’s conviction in their long-term defensibility.
AFG’s investment in Replica is anchored in their leadership in securing high-risk environments through a flexible and scalable platform, their proven ability to solve high-stakes problems for enterprise and government clients, and the massive gap in the market they’re poised to fill. This is more than just an investment—it’s a commitment to shaping the future of cybersecurity.
If you'd like to learn more about AFG’s investment in Replica, please feel free to reach out to Ivan Ong (Partner at AFG Partners).