Portrait No. 001
Jeanine Johnson
Co-founder
Immutaverse, Inc.
Raised — Preseed: $813,000, Raising $5M
The stability of our way of life over the next decade depends on securing the billions of internet-connected devices that automate our world. Unfortunately, these smart devices are being produced faster than they're being secured by manufacturing companies, and malicious actors are exploiting this gap. We've seen a recent 5X YoY surge in smart device attacks, and hackers now use AI tools to scale attacks on our homes, places of business, and critical infrastructure (i.e. our water supply and electric grids). I have firsthand experience with the security challenges faced by manufacturers of smart devices, having spent over 15 years as a product security leader in the industry. I also have experience governing critical infrastructure operations insecure devices threaten. With a shortage of nearly 4 million cybersecurity workers worldwide, the smart device industry has lacked a scalable, easy-to-use solution to secure devices, which is why we founded Immutaverse.
In her words
“With a shortage of nearly 4 million cybersecurity workers worldwide, the smart device industry has lacked a scalable, easy-to-use solution to secure devices, which is why we founded Immutaverse.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
Earlier in my career, I interviewed for a highly coveted position at a well-known Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm. During the interview process, I was asked whether I was married and whether I had kids. I remember feeling disappointed with the interviewer, but I also felt insecure and answered \"no\" on a technicality: my lesbian partner and I weren’t married and our daughter wasn’t due for a few months. I felt they were probing and trying to infer whether I was a lesbian based on the way I dressed and my mannerisms. They didn't continue the process with me. Since then, I've helped create and raise millions for several startups in a male dominated venture economy: PeerSpace, SunToWater and Immutaverse. PeerSpace is a marketplace for day-use business space that has well over a million bookings. SunToWater patented an appliance that generates potable water from humidity - even in desert environments - using sustainable, low-powered techniques that pair well with renewable energy. I was honored to win Singularity University’s Impact Challenge for SunToWater as an innovative solution to drought crisis and awarded by then Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. More recently, I cofounded Immutaverse with other women to secure internet connected devices using AI and we’ve already won several awards and non-dilutive grants for our platform.
Chapter II
Your vision.
Smart devices are being produced faster than manufacturers can secure them, and malicious actors are exploiting this gap. Six years after COVID, regulatory bodies are finally ready to address this problem, particularly in Europe, with the Cyber Resilience Act's September 11th deadline this year for mandatory vulnerability reporting. With these regulatory winds at our backs, our approach to closing this gap is two-fold. We are modernizing how smart device manufacturers secure their products so they can do so quickly, affordably, and at scale. We are also educating consumers about the vulnerabilities in the devices they currently own and use, with the goal of empowering them to secure their products.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
The work we’re doing at Immutaverse is about more than securing devices. It’s about strengthening the digital foundations future generations will depend on. As we approach a post-quantum era, I hope to help shape a safer, more resilient internet that anticipates risk rather than reacts to it. Just as important, I want to expand the circle of women leading and investing in cybersecurity. My legacy would be a generation of women founders and accredited investors who build and fund the infrastructure of trust, and see themselves not as exceptions, but as the norm.