US-Australian cybersecurity startup hacks $4.75 million Seed round

An Australian-American cybersecurity startup has raised US$3 million (A$4.75m) in Seed funding to develop its artificial intelligence-driven defensive systems.

The round for Harmony Intelligence was led by Airtree Ventures, alongside 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and execs from Canva, Adept AI, and Plaid as well as The Lean Startup author Eric Ries.

The funding will be used to scale up operations in Australia and the US, adding software engineers and security experts to the headcount.

Harmony Intelligence is cybersecurity version of a better mousetrap as cybercriminals also enlist AI to automate and scale attacks, with deepfake scams succeeding an astonishing 43% of the time. The startup is working with leading AI labs, companies and governments to test AI systems for vulnerabilities and strengthen their security postures.

The startup was cofounded by Soroush Pour and Alex Browne, who met at Duke University and later worked together at fintech Plaid as two of the OG employees.

Pour, the CEO, who went on to become head of tech and Sydney cultured meat startup Vow, said one of Harmony’s core innovations is an AI-automated penetration testing system, which continuously probes defences to detect weaknesses so organisations preemptively patch vulnerabilities before hackers exploit them.

“We’re witnessing an unprecedented growth in AI-powered cyberattacks that can overwhelm traditional institutions and defenses,” he said.

“Our mission is to level the playing field by developing AI-driven security solutions that anticipate and neutralize these threats before they cause harm.”

Browne, the CTO, said traditional security measures can no longer keep up with the evolutions in AI-based attacks..

“Our AI-powered defences are designed to move faster than AI-powered threats, ensuring organizations stay ahead of attackers.”

Airtree partern Jax Vullinghs said there’s an arms race in cybersecurity.

“As AI becomes more powerful, so do the tools available to bad actors,” she said.

“Harmony’s team combines deep AI and cyber expertise, making them exactly the kind of company we want to back.”