Australian-American startup secures funding from Airtree VC and strategic investors to develop AI cyber defenses amid massive wave of AI-enabled cyber attacks.
SYDNEY & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#CISO--Amid a global rise in sophisticated AI-powered cyberattacks, Harmony Intelligence today announced it has raised USD$3 million in seed funding to accelerate development of its defensive AI technology. The investment round was led by Airtree with participation from more than 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and Eric Ries (author of “The Lean Startup”).
The funding comes at a critical moment when organizations around the world are struggling to defend against increasingly sophisticated, AI-enabled threats. Over half of businesses in the U.S. and U.K. have been targets of deepfake scams, with 43% falling victim. Recent high-profile incidents include UK engineering firm Arup, where fraudsters used AI-generated deepfake technology to impersonate senior executives, leading to the theft of USD$25 million.
"We're witnessing an unprecedented growth in AI-powered attacks that can overwhelm traditional institutions and defenses," said Soroush Pour, CEO and Co-founder of Harmony. "Our mission is to level the playing field by building defensive technologies that stay ahead of these threats, ensuring businesses and organizations are protected as AI capabilities continue to advance at an exponential pace."
AI-Powered Defenses to Counter Emerging Cyber Threats
Harmony has already established itself as a trusted safety evaluator for leading AI labs and governments, contributing to the testing of frontier models in areas such as autonomy and cybersecurity. This includes supporting the International Network of AI Safety Institutes, an international government effort, with cybersecurity testing of frontier models, as well as a recent briefing of the Australian Senate on emerging AI risks.
With the new funding, Harmony will continue development of next-generation defensive AI technologies, including AI automated penetration testing systems that can continuously probe defensive systems, identify weaknesses, and strengthen security postures before attackers can exploit them.
"We're entering an era where AI-powered attacks will overwhelm traditional security measures by exploiting vulnerabilities faster than human teams can patch them," said Alex Browne, CTO and Co-founder of Harmony. "In this new landscape, only AI-powered defenses can move faster than AI-powered attacks."
"We're seeing an arms race developing in AI security," said Jax Vullinghs, Partner at Airtree Ventures. "As AI systems become more powerful and accessible, the tools available to malicious actors are evolving at an unprecedented rate. Harmony's team combines deep AI and cyber expertise, making them exactly the kind of company we want to back."
An Experienced Team with Deep Cyber & AI Expertise
Co-founded by Soroush Pour and Alex Browne, both with extensive experience in company building and cybersecurity, Harmony has assembled a team of world-class engineers and researchers across the US and Australia.
Pour and Browne first met at Duke University and then worked together at Plaid, where they were among the first 20 employees as the unicorn startup scaled rapidly to serve millions of US consumers.
Pour established Plaid's first cybersecurity team, protecting the company from constant cyberattacks, including attempted credential stuffing attacks and network breaches. Pour went on to serve as Head of Technology at biotech startup Vow, leading a 35-person product R&D team. Browne worked as a tech lead at 0x Labs and Edge Analytics, developing security-critical blockchain systems and ML systems for customers including Google X.
Harmony is currently hiring for multiple positions, including a Software Engineer and Chief of Staff to help bolster its next phase of growth.
About Harmony Intelligence
Harmony builds cutting-edge defensive AI products that safeguard people and critical infrastructure around the world from AI-powered threats. Founded by experienced technologists Soroush Pour and Alex Browne, the company works with leading AI labs, enterprises, and governments to rigorously test AI systems and develop sophisticated cyber defenses capable of matching the unprecedented speed and sophistication of cyberattacks in the AI era. Harmony's world-class team of engineers and researchers operates across Australia and the US.
To learn more about Harmony, visit www.harmonyintelligence.com
About Airtree
Airtree is a venture capital firm backing Aussie and Kiwi founders, building the iconic technology companies of tomorrow. We’re powered by our network, dedicating extraordinary resources to help founders shortcut company-building firsts and accelerate their journey from idea to global household name.
As one of the largest and most active early-stage investors in Australia and New Zealand with $2 billion FUM, Airtree’s 110+ portfolio features the region’s breakout tech companies, including Canva, Go1, Employment Hero, Pet Circle, Immutable and Linktree.
To learn more about Airtree, visit www.airtree.vc
Contacts
Media Contact
Soroush Pour
media@harmonyintelligence.com