Cybercriminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to power their attacks. In response, cybersecurity defenders are also turning to AI technology to fight back. A security startup named Depthfirst, positioning itself at the forefront of this AI-powered defense, announced that it has raised 40 million dollars in a Series A funding round.
Founded in October 2024, the company raised this round from Accel Partners, which led the investment. The round also saw participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and AltCapital. Depthfirst offers a platform called General Security Intelligence, an AI-native suite that helps companies scan and analyze their codebases and workflows for signs of security trouble. The company states that the platform also allows companies to protect themselves from credential exposures and to monitor threats to their open source and third-party software components.
The company plans to use the new capital to hire additional staff for applied research and engineering, as well as for product and sales roles. Qasim Mithani, the company’s co-founder and CEO, commented on the announcement. He stated that we have entered an era where software is written faster than it can be secured. Mithani, who previously worked for Databricks and Amazon, added that automation has changed how bad actors execute their attacks. He said that AI has already changed how attackers work, and that defense has to evolve just as fundamentally.
The company’s leadership brings together backgrounds in both AI and security. One of Depthfirst’s other co-founders, Daniele Perito, previously served as director of security and risk engineering at Square, which is part of Jack Dorsey’s Block. Its Chief Technology Officer, and another co-founder, Andrea Michi, was previously an engineer at Google DeepMind.
Just as AI can be used for legitimate purposes, it can also be used by cybercriminals to automate a whole range of malicious processes. These include writing malware, conducting social engineering attacks, and scanning for vulnerabilities to exploit. Last November, the AI company Anthropic claimed that it had thwarted the first AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign.
Depthfirst says it can help protect companies from many of these AI-driven exploits. The company also reports that it has already developed partnerships with a number of prominent companies, including AngelList, Lovable, and Moveworks.