UK-based Mindgard, specialising in AI security testing, has secured $8 million in funding. .406 Ventures led the round with participation from Atlantic Bridge, Willowtree Investments, and existing investors IQ Capital and Lakestar (which recently backed Dexory and Vsim).
The funding will help the company build the team of 15 by the end of next year, product development and R&D, and expand into the US.
New appointees
In addition to the investment, Mindgard appointed two new executives, Dave Ganly, a former Director of Product at Twilio, and Fergal Glynn, who most recently served as CMO at Next DLP (acquired by Fortinet). They will play a critical role in the company’s product development and launch Mindgard’s expansion into the North American market with a leadership presence in Boston.
Need for security in AI
The deployment and use of AI introduce new risks, creating a complex security landscape that traditional tools cannot address. As a result, many AI products are being launched without adequate security assurances, leaving organisations vulnerable. This is an issue underscored by a Gartner finding that 29% of enterprises deploying AI systems have reported security breaches, and only 10% of internal auditors have visibility into AI risk.
Many of these new risks such as LLM prompt injection and jailbreaks exploit AI systems’ probabilistic and opaque nature, which only manifests at runtime. Securing these risks, unique to AI models and toolchains, requires a fundamentally new approach.
Mindgard revolutionises AI security testing and automated AI red teaming with its Dynamic Application Security Testing for AI (DAST-AI) solution.
Protects companies from AI threats
Founded in 2022 by Dr. Peter Garraghan and Steve Street, Mindgard’s technology identifies and resolves AI-specific vulnerabilities that can only be detected during runtime. For organisations adopting AI or establishing guardrails, continuous security testing is essential for gaining risk visibility across the AI lifecycle.
Mindgard’s solution integrates into existing automation, empowering security teams, developers, AI red teamers, and pentesters to secure AI without disrupting established workflows.
“The rapid adoption of AI has introduced new and complex security risks that traditional tools cannot address,” said Greg Dracon, Partner at .406 Ventures. “Mindgard’s innovative approach, born out of the distinct challenges of securing AI, equips security teams and developers with the tools they need to deliver secure AI systems. Mindgard is well-positioned to lead this emerging market and we are thrilled to partner with them on this journey.”
“All software has security risks, and AI is no exception,” said Dr. Peter Garraghan, CEO of Mindgard and Professor at Lancaster University. “The challenge is that the way these risks manifest within AI is fundamentally different from other software. Drawing on our 10 years of experience in AI security research, Mindgard was created to tackle this challenge. We’re proud to lead the charge toward creating a safer, more secure future for AI.”
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