AI security company, depthfirst, announced a $40 million series A

Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI in their attacks. At the same time, cyber defenders are also turning to technology to fight back. Depth firstThe security startup positions itself at the front of this AI-powered defense, announced Wednesday that it has raised $40 million in a Series A round.

Founded in October 2024, the company raised a 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 native AI suite that helps companies scan and analyze their codebase and workflows for signs of trouble. The company says the platform also allows companies to protect themselves from credential exposure and monitor threats to open-source and third-party components.

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

“We have entered an era where software is written faster than it can be secured,” said Qasim Mithani, the company’s founder and CEO, as part of the announcement. Mithani, who previously worked at Databricks and Amazon, added that automation has changed how bad actors carry out attacks. “AI has changed the way attackers work. Defenses need to evolve as much as the basics.

The company’s leadership comes with a background in AI and security. One of the other Depthfirst co-founders, Daniele Perito, was previously director of security and risk engineering at Square, which is part of Jack Dorsey’s Block. The CTO (and other 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 variety of malicious processes—from writing malware to social engineering attacks to scanning for vulnerabilities for exploitation. Last November, Anthropic claimed that it had disrupted “AI manages cyber espionage campaigns.”

Depthfirst says it can help protect companies from many “AI-driven exploits,” and has developed partnerships with several prominent companies, including AngelList, Lovable, and Moveworks.