ZeroRisk Secures $10M Series A to Scale Merchant Cyber Risk Orchestration Globally

ZeroRisk, an Irish cybersecurity firm, has secured $10 million in Series A funding to scale its merchant risk management platform. For payment providers, this highlights a shift from static annual compliance to active, real-time threat monitoring. As cyber threats like credential theft and website vulnerabilities escalate, the ability to protect merchant portfolios is becoming a core competitive differentiator.

What was announced

ZeroRisk has closed a $10 million Series A investment round led by MiddleGame Ventures, with participation from existing investor Elkstone. The capital is designated to support the company’s global expansion, accelerate product development, and build the operational capacity required to deploy its platform across large-scale merchant portfolios. Founded in 2023, the company provides a unified view of cyber risk for banks and payment providers, moving beyond traditional annual compliance exercises.

The platform integrates risk monitoring, compliance, education, guided remediation, and protection services into a single interface. It is designed to address the evolving threat landscape facing smaller businesses, which now includes scams, stolen credentials, website vulnerabilities, and attacks on connected devices. By providing merchants with clear guidance on addressing specific risks, the platform also enables payment processors to transform compliance requirements into revenue-generating opportunities through the distribution of value-added services.

Currently operating in Ireland and the United States, ZeroRisk maintains offices in Dublin, Atlanta, and Longford. The company’s technology is already in use by major financial institutions and payment businesses, including Bank of America, Global Payments, Checkout.com, and Trust Payments. Following the deployment of several contracted programmes, the firm expects to grow its revenue threefold in 2026 as its international customer base continues to expand across Europe and North America.

"Payment companies have spent years trying to manage merchant risk through annual compliance exercises. That is no longer enough. Their customers are dealing with scams, credential theft, website vulnerabilities and attacks on devices every day. Our job is to give payment providers visibility across the portfolio and give merchants a clear route to action."

Gary Nolan, co-founder and CEO of ZeroRisk.

The companies involved

ZeroRisk, also known as ZeroRisk.io, is a Dublin-headquartered cybersecurity company established in 2023. It focuses on the intersection of payments and financial services, providing tools for acquirers, processors, and Payment Facilitators (PayFacs) to manage the security posture of their merchant clients. The company’s leadership team consists of former operators in the payments space, which informs the platform’s focus on streamlining financial services workflows and making risk management more intuitive for both providers and merchants.

MiddleGame Ventures is a prominent fintech-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups transforming critical financial infrastructure. The firm has a history of backing European fintechs that bridge the gap between traditional banking and modern digital solutions. Patrick Pinschmidt serves as Co-Managing Partner at MiddleGame Ventures.

Elkstone is an Irish investment firm that initially backed ZeroRisk at the seed stage. Through its venture arm, led by Niall McEvoy, Head of Venture at Elkstone, the firm supports high-growth Irish startups looking to scale internationally. The firm’s continued participation in this Series A round underscores its ongoing support for ZeroRisk’s vision of modernising merchant cybersecurity and compliance.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the investment activity of MiddleGame Ventures as it continues to deploy capital across the European fintech ecosystem. In June 2024, we reported that MiddleGame Ventures Announces Initial Close of Third FinTech Fund With Targeted €150M, signaling a significant war chest for infrastructure-level investments.

The firm has also been active in supporting fund operations and infrastructure. MiddleGame participated in rounds for Fundcraft, as seen when fundcraft Increases Series A to €11 Million Demonstrating Strong Product-Market Fit and later when Fundcraft Secures €12M to Scale AI-Driven Digital Fund Operations Across Europe. Additionally, MiddleGame’s focus on the future of payments was evident in our coverage of Paygentic Raises a $2m Pre-Seed Round to Provide Payments Infrastructure to AI-Native Businesses.

What this means

This investment signals a necessary evolution in the relationship between payment processors and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). For too long, "security" in the merchant space was synonymous with a "check-the-box" annual PCI compliance form. However, as the threat landscape shifts toward sophisticated credential harvesting and IoT vulnerabilities, processors that fail to provide active protection risk significant churn and liability. ZeroRisk’s model puts pressure on traditional compliance-only vendors who lack real-time monitoring capabilities. The industry is moving toward a "security-as-a-service" model where acquirers must act as guardians, not just conduits for transactions, or risk losing their merchant portfolios to more proactive competitors.