With $43M in fresh funding, Adaptive Security simulates AI-powered attacks to shield companies from a new generation of cyber trickery!

Remember when phishing scams came riddled with typos and suspicious links? That era is long gone. Today’s cybercriminals have leveled up, thanks to generative AI. Now, it’s easier than ever for them to create eerily convincing deepfake voices, fake emails, forged job offers, and even AI-generated receipts.

These aren’t just theoretical threats—companies around the world are facing real damage. The infamous Axie Infinity breach in 2022, which cost over $600 million, started with a simple social engineering attack—a fake job offer. With AI tools, these manipulations are now automated, personalized, and more convincing than ever.

OpenAI Enters the Cybersecurity Arena

OpenAI, the powerhouse behind ChatGPT and the driving force of the generative AI boom, is well aware of how its own creations can be misused. That’s why it just made its first-ever investment in a cybersecurity startup—New York-based Adaptive Security.

On Wednesday, Adaptive announced a $43 million Series A funding round, co-led by OpenAI’s Startup Fund and Andreessen Horowitz. For OpenAI, this move isn’t just strategic—it’s personal. The company that brought AI into the mainstream is now backing a defense mechanism against its darker uses.

Simulating the Enemy: Adaptive’s Smart Defense

So, what exactly does Adaptive Security do? In simple terms: it fakes an attack before the real one hits.

Adaptive simulates realistic AI-generated threats—think spoofed phone calls from your CTO or a text from the “finance department.” It trains employees to spot and respond to these threats in real time. The goal? Build an alert, AI-aware workforce ready to question what feels real.

And it goes beyond voice. The platform also fakes texts, emails, and even analyzes which departments or individuals are most vulnerable, creating customized training scenarios.

Why Human Error Is Still the Weakest Link

While firewalls and encryption still matter, many of today’s biggest breaches start with a human mistake—someone clicking a malicious link, sharing sensitive info, or being tricked into granting access. This kind of “social engineering” is basic, but still deadly effective.

AI has simply made these attacks faster, smarter, and scarier. As Adaptive Security’s CEO Brian Long puts it: “The sophistication of AI-driven social engineering is growing rapidly. Our job is to make sure humans stay one step ahead.”

Meet the Man Behind the Mission

Brian Long isn’t just another startup founder. He’s a seasoned entrepreneur with two major successes under his belt: TapCommerce, acquired by Twitter for over $100 million, and Attentive, an ad-tech unicorn valued at $10 billion.

Launched in 2023, Adaptive Security already has over 100 enterprise customers. According to Long, customer feedback and rapid adoption played a key role in winning OpenAI’s support. The new funds will primarily go toward hiring more engineers to stay ahead in what he calls the AI arms race.

The Bigger Battle: Cybersecurity in an AI-Powered World

Adaptive isn’t alone. The cybersecurity world is rapidly adapting to AI-era challenges. Cyberhaven recently raised $100 million to stop employees from inputting sensitive information into tools like ChatGPT. Snyk credits insecure AI-generated code for pushing its revenue beyond $300 million. And deepfake detection startup GetReal secured $17.5 million to combat visual manipulation.

Clearly, the battle lines are being drawn between bad actors exploiting AI and defenders trying to outsmart them.

One Simple Tip That Could Save You

While Adaptive Security is building a fortress against AI-driven attacks, Long shares a surprisingly simple tip that anyone can follow today:
 “Delete your voicemail.”

Why? Because your voicemail contains enough of your voice to be cloned. In an age where a few seconds of audio can be used to impersonate you, silence might just be your best shield.

The Human Firewall Is the Future

As AI threats become more sophisticated, the solution might not lie in stronger passwords or newer software—but in smarter people. Adaptive Security is betting that the best defense against artificial intelligence is human intelligence—well-trained, alert, and prepared.

In this AI vs. AI war, the real winner could be the human who knows what to look for.