OpenAI Backs Cybersecurity Firm Adaptive Security in US$43M Round to Combat AI Threats
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Adaptive Security has secured US$43 million in a funding round announced on April 2, 2025, led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the OpenAI Startup Fund. This marks the first instance of OpenAI, a company known for its work in artificial intelligence, investing in a cybersecurity firm. Other investors in the round include Abstract Ventures, Eniac Ventures, CrossBeam Ventures, and K5, as well as executives from companies such as Google, Workday, Shopify, Plaid, and Paxos. The company states that its goal is to protect organizations from cyberattacks powered by artificial intelligence, with the funds earmarked for expanding its research and development team to tackle this issue.
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Plans for Growth and Recruitment
The capital will support Adaptive Security’s efforts to enhance its offerings amid what it describes as a growing threat landscape. Since its public launch in January 2025, the company reports having gained over 100 enterprise clients, including First State Bank, Podium, The Dallas Mavericks, and BMC, spanning various industries. Adaptive Security is also expanding its workforce, encouraging individuals interested in cybersecurity to apply through its jobs page. The company frames this hiring push as part of its broader mission to counter AI-based threats.
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AI-Powered Social Engineering as a Rising Concern
Adaptive Security highlights social engineering—where attackers manipulate individuals into revealing sensitive information—as a primary cause of security breaches. It argues that AI has intensified this problem by enabling attackers to create convincing personas using open-source large language models (LLMs) and publicly available data. These AI-generated entities, according to the company, can mimic coworkers or executives across phone calls, emails, and text messages, targeting multiple victims simultaneously with minimal effort.
The company warns that such attacks could lead to financial theft, ransomware deployment, infrastructure disruption, or the extraction of trade secrets. It notes that these AI agents can operate continuously and scale rapidly, potentially escalating to high-value targets once a breach occurs. Adaptive Security references reported incidents from earlier this year, including a foreign policy issue and financial losses, as examples of AI-powered social engineering’s impact. It also cites a survey of over 100 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), which identified AI-driven social engineering as their top security concern.
Using AI to Counter AI Threats
Adaptive Security asserts that AI can also serve as a defense against these threats. The company’s platform combines several features aimed at identifying and mitigating risks before they result in harm. “Thankfully, the magic of generative AI can also be used to fight back against this new threat”, it states, emphasizing its use of advanced models and data.
Deepfake Persona Simulations: The company employs AI-generated personas to simulate attacks across voice, SMS, and email channels. These simulations, such as a call from a supposed controller requesting a wire transfer, aim to test employee responses. If an employee engages with the simulation, the system flags the interaction and provides immediate training tailored to the incident.
AI-Powered Security Training: Adaptive Security offers training modules that adapt to individual users, delivered in a mobile-friendly format. The company reports an average user rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, attributing this to the relevance and accessibility of the content, which is reviewed by experts and updated to reflect current threats.
Real-Time Threat Triage: When employees report suspicious messages, Adaptive Security’s AI analyzes them in real time, assigns a risk score, and provides security teams with data to respond. This feature aims to give Security Operations Centers (SOCs) visibility into potential threats as they emerge across communication channels.
GenAI-Powered Content Creation: The platform includes tools for generating customized training materials, such as text, visuals, or videos, based on specific topics or policies. Adaptive Security states that this allows organizations to address new threats quickly, preparing employees before vulnerabilities are exploited.
AI-Driven Risk Scoring: Adaptive Security tracks interactions like clicks, calls, and reports to build a risk model updated in real time. This provides security teams with a view of vulnerabilities at individual, team, and organizational levels, intended to guide resource allocation and response strategies.
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Source: Adaptive Security
