Apex, an Israeli startup developing a cutting-edge AI security platform, announced today the successful completion of a $7 million seed funding round. The investment was co-led by renowned venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures, with participation from a group of prominent angel investors, including Sam Altman, CEO of AI pioneer OpenAI.
Founded just ten months ago by Matan Derman (CEO) and Tomer Avni (CPO), both veterans of the elite 8200 intelligence unit, Apex has quickly established itself as a leader in the burgeoning field of AI security. The company’s platform is designed to address the growing need for organizations to adopt AI technologies while effectively managing the associated cybersecurity risks.
“Apex was founded with the mission of empowering security and AI teams to enable the secure and swift AI adoption within world-class organizations,” said Derman in an interview with TechCrunch. “During the company’s founding process, we encountered significant hesitation from organizations to adopt these technologies due to data security concerns. The Apex platform directly addresses this need.”
The Apex platform provides real-time monitoring of AI usage within an organization, along with policy setting capabilities, threat and suspicious activity detection, and rapid response to security incidents. This comprehensive approach allows companies to leverage the power of AI while maintaining robust data security and privacy measures.
Despite its relatively short history, Apex has already attracted an impressive roster of clients. The startup plans to use the seed funding to accelerate product development, expand its team, and ramp up go-to-market efforts. With the rapid growth in demand for its solution, Apex expects to double its employee count by the end of the year.
Investors in the seed round expressed strong confidence in Apex’s potential. “Every wave of disruptive innovation introduces new security threats and attack vectors, and generative AI is no exception,” noted Bogomil Balkansky, Partner at Sequoia Capital. “We are proud to partner with Matan and Tomer, and we are excited to see Apex Security quickly emerging as the leader in generative AI security.”
Shardul Shah, Partner at Index Ventures, echoed this sentiment, stating, “As companies start using AI and large language models, they expose themselves to new risks, including data leaks, privacy, intellectual property breaches, or dedicated AI attacks. Apex offers an innovative solution to the main security challenges facing the tech industry today.”
As the adoption of AI technologies continues to accelerate across industries, the demand for robust security solutions is expected to grow rapidly. With its innovative platform and backing from top-tier investors, Apex is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend and establish itself as a major player in the AI security space.
