Cato Networks opens new London hub in regional R&D drive

Cato Networks has opened the doors at a new London tech hub as the cloud native security firm targets increased regional R&D investment.

The new R&D hub, located in the Holborn area, marks the company’s first dedicated hub in London, and will focus on “key strategic areas” such as AI, security innovation, and SMB growth.

According to the firm, the opening builds on its existing footprint in the city. At present, Cato Networks employs nearly 100 people spanning sales, marketing, and customer success and support.

“Cato’s new London R&D site marks a defining moment and a meaningful acceleration into our next phase of growth,” said Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato.

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“This strategic expansion elevates our global R&D footprint, anchoring us closer to one of the world’s leading AI and cybersecurity talent hubs, and helping us build the technologies customers need to securely adopt AI at scale.”

London hub a “key pillar” for future growth

Cato Networks said the new London hub represents a “key pillar” in its next phase of growth, and aims to capitalize on surging demand for AI security capabilities.

Indeed, researchers based at the R&D site will focus on two key areas, initially focusing on driving the firm’s AI capabilities and relationships with SMBs to help scale the technology more efficiently.

Elsewhere, the hub will also focus on “next-generation” security innovation, and will establish a dedicated security-focused product engineering team in London.

Teams located at the site will comprise a core group of data scientists, software engineers, and product managers, the company revealed. Cato Networks also pointed to longer-term hiring goals over the next three years, with plans to expand the team to more than 50 staff.

“I’m incredibly excited to build a world-class AI innovation hub right here in London,” said Director of Engineering Avidan Avraham, who will lead the effort.

“The opportunity here is vast, and building alongside other global tech giants that have chosen to set up in the city gives us access to a rich pool of experience and talent that we can tap into and develop.

The announcement by Cato Networks marked the latest in a string of big tech pledges to open office sites in London as the city continues to establish itself as a global AI hub.

Earlier this year, OpenAI unveiled plans to open a new R&D site in London, its largest outside of the US.

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