emproof Appoints Marc Schieder as CEO and Closes Funding Round with European Investor Consortium

Bochum-based deep-tech specialist for embedded security launches international scaling – Auriga Cyber Ventures leads the round, Dutch SecFund joins as new investor, HTGF and TIN Capital expand their commitments

emproof, a specialist in protecting embedded systems at the binary level, has appointed Marc Schieder as CEO and successfully closed a funding round with a European investor consortium. With the fresh capital, the company is accelerating its international expansion and further professionalizing its sales, compliance, and product development functions.

Experienced technology executive takes the helm

Schieder joined the company in early January 2026 and, as CEO, is responsible for transforming emproof from a research-driven start-up into a scalable enterprise SaaS organization. Previously, he served as Managing Director at DRACOON (now Kiteworks), where he was responsible for building and expanding the company.

“Companies invest years and millions in developing their firmware and algorithms – and lose that know-how within minutes through reverse engineering. We make sure that doesn’t happen: Your genius. Preserved,” says Schieder.

Binary-level security – without access to source code

emproof protects embedded systems against attacks, tampering, and reverse engineering – directly at the binary level. Its minimally invasive approach enables legacy systems to be hardened retrospectively, even without access to the original source code. The company thus addresses two key market needs: protecting intellectual property in algorithms and firmware, and meeting increasing regulatory requirements such as the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and NIS2.

The company operates in three strategic areas: the civilian market (automotive, industrial, and medical technology), the protection of legacy devices, and the defence & aerospace sector, where emproof collaborates in EDF-funded projects with European system integrators such as Kongsberg and Rheinmetall.

European investor consortium secures growth

The funding round is led by Auriga Cyber Ventures. Dutch SecFund joins as a new investor. Existing investors including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and TIN Capital have significantly expanded their commitments.

The capital will be invested in building the international sales team, expanding compliance frameworks – including ISO 27001:2022 certification – and further developing the product platform.

Lead investor Auriga Cyber Ventures’ Managing Partner Geoffroy Rosset explains: “Our decision to reinvest and lead this round reflects our strong conviction in emproof’s exceptional technology and team. With Marc Schieder joining as CEO, a new chapter begins — focused on accelerating commercial growth and scaling internationally. We are proud to support emproof as it builds a global leader in embedded security.”

About emproof
emproof is a deep-tech company based in Bochum, originating from Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), the Max Planck Institute, and the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI). The company develops technologies to protect embedded systems at the binary level and is backed by a European investor consortium from Germany, France, and the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.emproof.com.

Press Contact
Kafka Kommunikation
Regina Urich & Cathrin Bauer
emproof@kafka-kommunikation.de