New York: AegisAI, a cybersecurity startup founded by former Google Safe Browsing and reCAPTCHA leaders Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo, today announced its launch alongside a $13 million seed funding round led by Accel and Foundation Capital.
The funding will accelerate product development, expand the engineering team, and scale go-to-market initiatives as the company aims to transform enterprise email security.
AegisAI Introduces AI-Driven Email Security
AegisAI addresses phishing, malware, and Business Email Compromise (BEC) threats with autonomous AI agents that prevent attacks from reaching user inboxes.
Also Read: Deutsche Boerse Opens Global Capability Center in Hyderabad
Unlike traditional rule-based email security systems, AegisAI reduces false positives by up to 90% and provides continuous learning from real-world adversarial behaviors.
The Growing Email Security Challenge
AI-powered cyberattacks are evolving rapidly, with adversaries rotating content, graphics, and messages to evade detection.
Studies in 2024 showed AI-generated phishing messages had a 54% click-through rate, far higher than the 12% for human-written phishing attempts. Attackers are also exploiting trusted platforms such as Salesforce, Zoom, and Google to deliver malicious content, bypassing traditional reputation-based filters.
AegisAI Platform Capabilities
The AegisAI platform integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace via API. Core features include:
- Autonomous Threat Detection: Real-time inspection of links, attachments, metadata, QR codes, and behavioral patterns.
- False Positive Suppression: Up to 90% fewer false positives compared to legacy email gateways.
- Zero-Configuration Operations: Autonomous response and policy enforcement requiring minimal setup.
- Enterprise-Grade Security: Built on encryption and data minimization principles.
Also Read: Dawnguard Emerges from Stealth, Raises USD 3M to Embed Security from Day Zero to Day 10000
Early adopters including Mesh and Lokker reported significant improvements in detecting and stopping AI-generated phishing, spear phishing, and executive impersonation attempts without manual intervention.
“Aegis is the first solution that truly changes the game. They stopped attackers in their tracks,” said Bam Azizi, CEO of Mesh. Ian Cohen, CEO of Lokker, added: “We immediately saw threats across teams that were stopped automatically without manual effort.”
Eric Wolford, Partner at Accel, highlighted AegisAI’s unique positioning: “Email remains the easiest attack vector in the AI era. We wanted a team that was AI-native, and Cy and Ryan fit that perfectly with their deep Google security expertise.”
Founded by Google veterans, AegisAI brings nearly a decade of expertise in protecting billions of users. After a successful stealth phase with pilot deployments across fintech and technology companies, the startup is now publicly launching to scale its next-generation autonomous email security platform.
