Immersive

A Bristol-based company that helps organisations test and improve their cyber skills through hands-on exercises and crisis simulations. Founded in 2017 by James Hadley.

About Immersive

Immersive (formerly Immersive Labs) is a cyber security company whose software lets organisations practise dealing with attacks. Security teams, leaders and even AI tools work through hands-on labs, crisis simulations and cyber drills, so a company can see how ready it really is rather than guess. It calls this a "cyber proving ground".

It was founded in 2017 by James Hadley and describes itself as a British company headquartered in Bristol, with a US office in Boston. Its own site says it has more than 300 employees across the US, UK and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). A company post said Goldman Sachs led an investment round in 2019, and the name changed from Immersive Labs to Immersive. Its own page does not describe Hadley's earlier career, so we have not stated it.

Its mission, in its own words, is helping organisations prove cyber resilience in the AI era so they can adopt AI with more confidence. Resilience here means being able to cope with and recover from an attack.

The main product is the Immersive One platform. Its solutions include Hands-On Labs (practical exercises for technical staff), Technical Exercising, Business Risk Exercising (practice for managers and leaders), Resilience Pathways, an AI Hub and Benchmarking and Reporting. A threat research and lab-content team called Container 7 keeps labs up to date with attacker methods. Immersive says it has more than 400 customers worldwide in areas such as finance, healthcare and government, and names HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Citi, National Grid, Specsavers and Mercedes-Benz. These are company claims.

Immersive also launched CyberMillion in 2023, a free route into cybersecurity for people from varied backgrounds using skills they already have. A Bristol job advert for a Junior Cyber Security Engineer (Blue Team), an entry-level role in the Cyber Content team, asked applicants to finish CyberMillion's Defensive Security Operations pathway first. The job involves writing and testing lab content, explaining security topics in plain English and helping with Capture the Flag events. It was hybrid, with two to three days a week in the Bristol office. The advert is undated in our notes, so check whether it is still open.

In that advert Immersive describes itself as open and inclusive. Its four stated values are Driven, Inclusive, Customer Centric and One Team. It lists mentoring for new hires, monthly socials, 25 days' annual leave, two volunteering days, a learning fund, a cycle-to-work scheme and flexible working options. These are the company's own statements. We found no formal graduate or apprenticeship scheme, so check the careers page.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Practical exercises for security teams.', 'title': 'Hands-on cyber labs'}
• {'desc': 'Practising the response to a major incident.', 'title': 'Crisis simulations'}
• {'desc': 'Benchmarking and reporting to show leaders how prepared they are.', 'title': 'Readiness measurement'}
• {'desc': 'Free route into cyber careers for people with transferable skills.', 'title': 'CyberMillion'}

Key facts

• Founded 2017 by James Hadley; HQ Bristol, US office in Boston
• More than 300 employees across the US, UK and EMEA (company claim)
• Values: Driven, Inclusive, Customer Centric, One Team (job advert)
• CyberMillion launched 2023; entry-level Bristol role needed its Defensive Security pathway

Website: www.immersivelabs.com