AI security company, Deepfirst, has announced $40 million in Series A funding

Cybercriminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence in their attacks. Meanwhile, cyber defenders are also turning to technology to fight back. Depth firsta security startup positioning itself at the forefront of this AI-powered defense, announced Wednesday that it has raised $40 million in a seed round.

Founded in October 2024, the company received the round from Accel Partners, which led the investment, with participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and Alt Capital.

Depthfirst offers a platform called General Security Intelligence, a suite of artificial intelligence that helps companies scan and analyze their code bases and workflows for signs of problems. The company says the platform also allows companies to protect themselves from credential exposure and monitor threats to their open source and third-party components.

The company plans to use the new capital to hire additional employees for applied research and engineering, as well as product and sales.

“We have entered an era where software is written faster than it can be secured,” Qasim Mithani, co-founder and CEO of the company, said as part of the announcement. Maithani, who previously worked at Databricks and Amazon, added that automation has changed how bad actors carry out their attacks. “AI has already changed the way attackers operate. Defense must fundamentally evolve just as much.”

The company’s leadership comes with backgrounds in both artificial intelligence and security. Another of Deepfirst’s co-founders, Daniele Perito, previously served as director of security and risk engineering at Square, which is part of the Jack Dorsey building. Our CTO (and another co-founder), Andrea Michie, was previously an engineer at Google DeepMind.

Just as AI can be used for legitimate purposes, cybercriminals can also use it to automate a whole range of malicious processes – from writing malware to social engineering attacks to searching for vulnerabilities to exploit. Last November, Anthropic claimed to have thwarted the first operation…A cyber espionage campaign organized by Amnesty International“.

Depthfirst says it can help protect companies from many “AI-driven vulnerabilities,” and that it has already developed partnerships with a number of high-profile companies, including AngelList, Lovable, and Moveworks.