Fredericton-based cybersecurity company Lastwall has closed a $16 million round led by BDC Capital’s StrongNorth Fund and plans to use the money to expand sales to the Canadian government.

The round also included investments from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Frostbite Capital and existing investors Blue Bear Capital, 18West and Blue Wing Ventures.

Lastwall develops identity and authentication technology designed for government, defence and critical infrastructure networks. The company said its systems are built to operate across cloud, hybrid and disconnected environments, including low-bandwidth and air-gapped settings.

The company said it has worked with the U.S. Department of Defense (now the Department of War) since 2017. It recently received FedRAMP Moderate Authorization, a U.S. federal cybersecurity certification that allows vendors to operate within federal government systems.

“We proved our model in the world’s most demanding federal market,” said Lastwall Founder and CEO Karl Holmqvist in a statement. “We earned FedRAMP Moderate Authorization, secured U.S. government systems, and built a platform for the realities of modern cyber warfare. Now, we’re bringing those trusted capabilities home to help strengthen Canada’s cyber resilience at a defining moment for national security.”

Holmqvist emphasized that the focus on Canada is not a pivot away from the U.S. Rather, the company wants Canada to receive the same level of protection as the U.S. government. “Lastwall intends to be at the center of the mission to protect our continent, which means helping defend critical systems on both sides of the border,” he said.

This funding round is important for the New Brunswick innovation community for two reasons. First, it’s an eight-figure deal in the cybersecurity sector, which is a segment of the economy New Brunswick has targeted as a pillar of its innovation strategy. The financing also marks the first cybersecurity investment made through the StrongNorth Fund, which was launched to support Canadian technologies related to national security, defence and economic resilience.

Second, it’s the largest New Brunswick venture capital round since Fredericton’s Sonrai Security (also a cybersecurity company) raised US$50 million in October 2021. It comes as New Brunswick is emerging from a few dry years on the VC front. The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association says that New Brunswick booked three VC deals worth $6.9 million in the first quarter of 2026 – the only VC activity in the Maritimes in the period. NBIF officials last week said they’re noticing more big deals on the horizon in the province, both in terms of funding and exits.

“New Brunswick has built a strong advantage in cybersecurity, and NBIF is proud to back companies like Lastwall that are turning that strength into global opportunity,” said NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White. “This financing reflects our strong conviction in the team, the technology, and the market opportunity ahead as the company scales its trusted solutions in some of the world’s most security-sensitive markets.”

Peter Suma, managing partner at BDC Capital, said the investment aligns with the StrongNorth Fund’s mandate to back Canadian companies developing defence-related and dual-use technologies.

The company said governments and infrastructure operators are facing increasing cyber threats targeting sectors including energy, telecommunications, transportation and defence.

Lastwall is also working on quantum cybersecurity or protecting systems against quantum computing hacks. Quantum computing is a revolutionary field of technology that is expected to enable systems to solve highly complex problems exponentially faster than standard binary computing. It is believed to be years away from wide-spread adoption but companies and governments will have to make sure their systems are protected by “quantum-resistant” algorithms before cybercriminals are able to use the technology.

As part of the financing announcement, Lastwall said Peter Dawe, BDC’s vice-president of defence strategy, has joined the company’s board of directors.