Startups & Funding
Security startup Depthfirst secures $40 million Series A
Depthfirst, an AI-native security startup, raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Accel Partners to expand its code-scanning and threat-monitoring platform.
On Wednesday, security startup depthfirst announced that it has raised $40 million in a Series A round, which is an early-stage venture capital funding round. The investment was led by Accel Partners, with participation from a group of venture capital firms:
- Accel Partners
- SV Angel
- Mantis VC
- Alt Capital
Founded in October 2024, the company plans to use the new capital to hire additional staff across several departments, including applied research and engineering, as well as product and sales.
Depthfirst offers an AI-native software suite called General Security Intelligence. The platform helps companies scan and analyze their codebases and workflows for signs of trouble. According to the company, the platform also allows organizations to protect themselves from credential exposures and to monitor potential threats to their open-source and third-party components.
The startup’s launch comes as the security landscape shifts. “We’ve entered an era where software is written faster than it can be secured,” said Qasim Mithani, co-founder and CEO of depthfirst. Mithani, who previously worked for Databricks and Amazon, noted that automation has changed how attackers execute attacks, adding that defense must evolve fundamentally to match how attackers work.
These technologies are increasingly used by cybercriminals to automate a range of malicious processes, from writing malware to executing social engineering attacks and scanning for vulnerabilities to exploit. The scale of these threats was highlighted last November, when AI research company Anthropic claimed to have thwarted the first AI orchestrated cyber espionage campaign.
To combat these AI-driven exploits, depthfirst is deploying a leadership team with experience in both AI development and enterprise security. Co-founder Daniele Perito previously served as director of security and risk engineering at Square, which is part of Jack Dorsey’s Block. CTO and co-founder Andrea Michi was formerly an engineer at Google DeepMind. The company has already established partnerships with several organizations, including AngelList, Lovable, and Moveworks.
Why it matters
Depthfirst is positioning itself at the forefront of AI-powered defense, aiming to address the critical security gap created as software development velocity outpaces traditional security measures.