Mindgard raises $30M Series A to expand AI security platform

BOSTON—Artificial intelligence (AI) security startup Mindgard has raised $30 million in Series A funding as organizations increasingly look to secure AI systems against emerging threats and vulnerabilities, the company announced. 

The funding round was led by Album VC, with participation from Karma Ventures and existing investors .406 Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, IQ Capital and Lakestar. Mindgard said it plans to use the capital to expand its product, engineering, sales and marketing teams amid growing customer demand. 

Founded on research conducted at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, Mindgard develops technology designed to identify and defend against security risks in AI models, agents and applications. The company said its platform combines AI security research with offensive security testing to help organizations assess vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. 

According to Mindgard, its technology has uncovered more than 150 publicly disclosed security and safety vulnerabilities across widely used AI products. Those findings include vulnerabilities affecting OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Antigravity and Cursor IDE. 

"AI is creating an entirely new attack surface and organizations need a fundamentally different approach to securing it," said James Brear, CEO. "We don't just automate attacks. We operationalize expertise, turning the knowledge of leading AI security researchers and offensive security practitioners into the capabilities every enterprise needs to secure their AI." 

Mindgard said its platform uses intelligence gathered through vulnerability research and offensive security testing to continuously update its AI security capabilities. The company said the approach enables security teams to identify and mitigate risks as AI technologies evolve. 

The funding follows growing adoption among large enterprises, according to the company. Mindgard said its technology is being deployed by organizations across financial services, pharmaceuticals, gaming, digital services, semiconductors and healthcare sectors. 

"Organizations are moving AI into critical operations without security infrastructure designed for how these systems operate in practice," said Ty Boswell, partner at Album VC. "Mindgard has translated deep research and elite offensive-security expertise into a continuously evolving capability that enables enterprises to stay ahead of emerging AI threats." 

Karma Ventures Founding Partner Kristjan Laanemaa said the firm's investment was driven by Mindgard's combination of AI security research and enterprise adoption. 

"AI security is an emerging category and Mindgard stands out as one of the names to watch," Laanemaa said. "It's already proven in production. Some of the most demanding Fortune 2000 enterprises rely on it to safeguard their AI systems." 

Photo courtesy of Mindgard