An AI-powered cybersecurity startup called Neural Defend has raised more than $600K in a pre-seed round headed by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). Soonicorn Ventures, Techstars San Francisco, and Boston-based MIT SBXI also participated in the round. In order to further advance its research and development and product development, the funds will be utilized to improve its agentic AI capabilities for real-time, multimodal deepfake detection.
Neural Defend was established in 2024 and focuses on cybersecurity innovation and deepfake detection. The startup is tackling the increasing threats posed by AI-generated digital deceit, with trial initiatives now under way in Singapore and New York. The startup is said to have the potential to revolutionize fraud prevention and identity protection globally.
While still in the pre-revenue phase, Neural Defend is growing its business by collaborating with multinational corporations, fintech firms, and financial institutions to validate its products and broaden its market reach. Given the increase in deepfake risks across industries, the startup is in a strong position to encourage broad adoption of its solutions, affirms its official release.
Neural Defend’s AI agentic, multimodal, real-time deepfake detection technology is what makes it unique. In contrast to conventional techniques, its in-house AI models identify deepfakes in a variety of data forms, such as audio, video/image, and real-time streams, guaranteeing strong fraud prevention for governments and corporations.
Under the guidance of MIT (Boston), IIT, and IIM alumni, the startup is quickly gaining popularity among cybersecurity professionals and multinational corporations. Neural Defend focuses on video verification and KYC use cases while collaborating with financial institutions and fintech firms.
Their AI-driven fraud detection systems are effective, as evidenced by the fact that they have already met state-of-the-art benchmarks for their technology.
With deepfakes putting trillions of dollars at risk worldwide, the cybersecurity sector is expanding at an exponential rate. Given the growing need for real-time AI-driven fraud detection solutions, Neural Defend’s state-of-the-art technology is extremely pertinent in the current digital environment.
Leadership Comments
Piyush Verma, the CEO, Sivashankar Selvarajan, the CTO, and Sumit Singh, the Chief Data Officer, are in charge of the organization. A two-time founder and former researcher at MIT, Harvard, and IBM R&D, Piyush Verma has previously developed impact-driven businesses with Fortune 500 clients. A seasoned AI and cybersecurity specialist who graduated from IIT and IIM, Sivashankar Selvarajan is the recipient of the Intel Edge AI Award and is the owner of two patents in Face Anti-Spoof Detection. Through Publicis Sapient, Sumit Singh has overseen data pipelines valued at over $200 billion, working with significant clients such as INVESCO. Additionally, Neural Defend has been accepted into San Francisco’s esteemed Techstars accelerator.”
Vikram Ramasubramanian, Partner & CIO, Inflection Point Ventures, says, “It is no news that cyber threats are evolving rapidly, risking businesses and individuals’ privacy and finances. Neural Defend’s AI-driven approach to real-time detection perfectly aligns with today’s urgent need for robust cybersecurity and digital identity protection. At IPV, we back companies that solve critical challenges with scalable business models. Their vision and traction so far make them a compelling investment.”
“Our goal is to protect real identities against digital deception through innovative AI agentic technology,” said Piyush Verma, CEO of Neural Defend.
