Naq Raises GBP 5.1 million to Secure the NHS’s Digital Transformation

Naq helps health technology companies meet essential NHS standards amid rising cyber threats and regulatory delays.

UK and Netherlands-based cybersecurity and compliance company Naq has successfully closed a EUR 6 million Series A funding round to accelerate its mission to help health technology companies meet essential NHS standards amid rising cyber threats and regulatory delays.

The investment was made by Automate Health, providing Naq with access to the groups health tech Saas operating best practices, long term capital base and advisor network, including industry veterans Dan Taylor and Pam Garside. Automate Health is a private company backed by a leading global family office, the Steyn Group, with a management team with a strong track record in scaling Saas companies.

Co-founded by GDPR lawyer Nadia Kadhim and former NATO cybersecurity expert Chris Clinton, in 2020, Naq became the market’s first automated compliance platform tailored specifically for digital healthcare. It is a single platform to assure digital health technologies continuously meet regulatory requirements across cyber security, privacy and clinical safety.

The company emerged from the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) flagship cyber innovation Accelerator programme.

It is currently the compliance safeguard for more than 150 vital health technologies that serve the NHS, including SISU Health, Kidney Beam, Melo, Virtual ward Technologies and Oxford Dynamics, and has seen over 300% year-on-year revenue growth.

Commenting on the investment, Matt Taylor, CEO Automate Health , said: “Automate Health backs standout companies solving systemic inefficiencies and compliance challenges in healthcare. Naq is exactly that: an industry-leading platform with a loyal customer base, sticky revenue and growing demand as cybersecurity becomes mission-critical across health systems.”

Nadia Kadhim, Co-founder and CEO, Naq, added: “As the NHS shifts from analogue to digital, protecting patient data and systems is vital. With this funding our technology will help even more NHS suppliers to meet security standards without complexity or the excessive cost of consultancy offerings, saving innovators more than 180,000 hours or GBP 20,000 per compliance standard.”

Naq will use the funding to bring their unique software led compliance capability to a wider base of organisations that require fast, efficient compliance in Cyber Essentials, Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) as a cost effective and efficient alternative to expensive consulting-based offerings.

The investment will see the organisation accelerate product development, expanding its AI capabilities and adding additional standards to its compliance platform, including Medical Device Regulation, ISO 42001, SOC2 and HIPAA. It will also see its clinical and cybersecurity teams grow - advancing its mission to become the default infrastructure for digital health compliance in the UK and across Europe.

About Naq
Navigating regulatory compliance presents a significant hurdle for emerging health innovators. These entrepreneurs are often faced with a stark choice: either engage costly consultants or brave the journey alone, diverting focus from product development.

Founded in 2020 by GDPR lawyer Nadia Kadhim and ex-Nato Cyber Security expert Chris Clinton, Naq is the market's first automated healthcare compliance platform. With its ability to automate over 80% of compliance tasks, Naq offers innovators a faster, simpler, and more cost-effective approach to achieving, monitoring, and managing their digital health compliance, enabling them to get their solutions to market faster.

Since launching, Naq has achieved 300% YOY growth, and has 150+ customers, including some of the most innovative solutions serving the NHS, including RareCan, Incision, Visiopath Oxford Dynamics, OTESA and Care for Me.

Key Facts for the press release:
The amount raised in Primary and Secondary investment was 6 million Euros.

The full investment was made by Automate Health, who provide investment and support to B2B healthcare SaaS technology companies that remove inefficiency from healthcare systems so that resources can be used to improve patient’s lives.

Automate Health is a private company backed by a leading global family office, and has a management team with a strong record in scaling Saas companies.

Automate Health’s solutions help healthcare organizations improve back-office efficiency, compliance and audit, and patient experience. Automate Health has a track record of successfully acquiring and growing B2B Healthcare SaaS businesses.

Existing investors are still active, including Angel Investor, Maurice Beckand Verwee from Crosspring / NL, as Naq was part of their very first investment portfolio.

Naq was founded thanks to a grant and being placed on the UK Government’s National Cyber security Centre accelerator programme in 2021.

This support was followed by a Smart Grant from Innovate UK to build its AI functionality.

Using the money for product development, continuing to enhance its AI capability, to continue its journey to offer a single platform for digital health technologies to assure they continuously meet their cyber security, privacy, clinical safety and more. And expanding its clinical team and cyber security capability.


If you would like any additional information, or to speak with anyone, please contact:

Linsey Scott
Linsey@healthyreputations.co.uk
+44(0)7788 432 323