Adaptive Security Raises $43 Million to Combat AI-Powered Social Engineering Threats
Adaptive Security, a pioneer in AI-driven social engineering prevention, has successfully raised $43 million in fresh funding. The round was led by venture giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the OpenAI Startup Fund, marking OpenAI’s first investment in a cybersecurity-focused company. Additional investors include Abstract Ventures, Eniac Ventures, CrossBeam Ventures, and K5, along with prominent tech executives from Google, Workday, Shopify, Plaid, and more.
This significant investment will accelerate the development of Adaptive’s advanced solutions to defend against the rising tide of AI-driven cyberattacks.
AI-Generated Deepfake Threats on the Rise
The sophistication of cyberattacks is rapidly increasing as criminals harness AI to create hyper-realistic deepfake personas. These AI personas can convincingly mimic real individuals across phone calls, video chats, and emails, posing a serious threat to businesses globally.
Statistics highlight the urgency: Entrust reported that in 2024, a deepfake attack was attempted every five minutes in the US, totaling over 100,000 incidents. Sumsub noted a staggering 17-fold surge in deepfake attacks year over year, fueled by the availability of open-source large language models (LLMs) with limited safeguards.
Deepfake technology is no longer confined to high-profile targets, allowing attackers to replicate everyday professionals' identities in seconds, using publicly available data to create convincingly authentic AI clones.
Examples of this new threat landscape are alarming. In one case, the New York Times reported that an AI-generated impersonation of Ukraine’s foreign minister attempted to sway US policy during a video call with Senator Ben Cardin.
In another, fraudsters in Hong Kong used AI-generated voices to deceive a bank manager into wiring $25 million as reported by CNN. Even cybersecurity leaders are not immune, with Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport revealing attackers cloned his voice in a recent attempt to mislead his team according to TechCrunch.
Also read: Kong Unveils AI Gateway 3.10 With Enhanced Security, RAG Pipelines, and PII Protection
Building Defenses for the AI Age
Brian Long, CEO and co-founder of Adaptive Security, said, “Our platform is designed to protect companies at every stage of the attack cycle — from simulated AI attacks to employee training and automated risk mitigation. With this new investment from a16z, the OpenAI Startup Fund and other top-tier partners, we are scaling our technology to stay ahead of the next generation of cyber threats."
An End-to-End Solution for AI-Driven Cyber Defense
Adaptive Security’s platform combats AI-powered social engineering with tools like deepfake attack simulations, advanced AI training modules, and real-time threat response. It offers customizable training content, real-time risk assessments, and enables employees to flag and neutralize phishing attempts instantly.
The platform provides personalized training for vulnerabilities and ensures effective defense strategy prioritization with risk scores at individual, team, and organizational levels.
