As cybercriminals increasingly leverage AI to launch sophisticated attacks, defenders are turning to the same technology to stay ahead. AI security company DepthFirst secures $40 million in Series A funding, positioning itself as a key player in the emerging field of AI-driven cybersecurity.
Founded in October 2024, DepthFirst completed its $40 million Series A round led by Accel Partners, with additional participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and Alt Capital. The startup plans to deploy this capital to expand its team across applied research, engineering, product development, and sales.
DepthFirst’s flagship platform, General Security Intelligence, is designed as an AI-native solution that helps organizations monitor and analyze codebases and workflows for vulnerabilities. The platform also offers protection against credential exposures and provides continuous monitoring for risks in open-source and third-party components.
“We’ve entered an era where software is developed faster than it can be secured,” said Qasim Mithani, co-founder and CEO of DepthFirst. Mithani, who has previously held roles at Databricks and Amazon, emphasized the growing role of automation in cyberattacks. “AI has already transformed how attackers operate. Defense must evolve just as fundamentally.”
DepthFirst’s leadership brings deep expertise in both AI and cybersecurity. Co-founder Daniele Perito previously led security and risk engineering at Square, part of Jack Dorsey’s Block, while CTO Andrea Michi, also a co-founder, was formerly an engineer at Google DeepMind.
The company highlights that AI can be a double-edged sword: while it accelerates innovation, it can also enable cybercriminals to automate malware creation, social engineering attacks, and vulnerability scanning. Last November, Anthropic reported that it had prevented the first known AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign.
DepthFirst claims its platform can defend against many such “AI-driven exploits” and has already forged partnerships with notable organizations, including AngelList, Lovable, and Moveworks, to enhance their cybersecurity posture.
