Former Google security execs found AegisAI, raise $36M to stop AI-driven spear phishing
AegisAI, a startup founded by former Google security leaders, has raised $36 million to combat AI-powered spear phishing. Its technology is already adopted by dozens of customers.
Hackers are increasingly using AI to launch large-scale attacks, with email becoming a primary target. AI can quickly aggregate personal information such as details about colleagues, active projects, and recent travel itineraries, allowing attackers to instantly craft convincing messages. Last year, former Google security executives Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo, who previously worked on safe browsing technology and reCAPTCHA, teamed up to launch AegisAI. The startup uses AI agents to neutralize these threats, known as spear phishing.
Less than a year after its launch, AegisAI says its tech has been adopted by dozens of customers, including crypto payments company Mesh, AI startup LangChain, and privacy compliance platform Lokker. That demand helped AegisAI raise a $36 million Series A led by Battery Ventures, with participation from existing backers Accel and Foundation Capital. The fresh funding brings the startup's total capital to $49 million.
Khormaee notes that AI-powered attacks bypass existing controls more than half the time, making them almost twice as effective as before. He argues that traditional rule-based systems relying on “if-then” logic are too slow and limited to catch AI-crafted malicious emails. So AegisAI developed AI agents that analyze each message as a human would, paying attention to small anomalies that even the most elaborate checklist wouldn’t catch. The startup is starting with email but aims to expand to other areas such as data security.
AegisAI is not the only startup using AI to analyze every incoming email’s context to detect fraud and impersonation. Lightspeed-backed Ocean is also trying to displace established vendors like Proofpoint and Mimecast, as well as newer players like Abnormal Security. However, given that AegisAI is led by experts who helped secure Gmail, the world’s most popular email system, Battery Ventures general partner Dharmesh Thakker believes the startup has the best shot at becoming the leading new hack-prevention company.
