Adaptive Security: Inside OpenAI’s First Cyber Investment

Innovation is a double-edge sword for businesses, particularly when it comes to cybersecurity. 

On the one hand, technologies like Gen AI bring huge advantages to organisational security providing greater threat identification and intelligence, accelerated response and detection capabilities, and a more predictive and proactive security posture.

But, there’s a catch. AI and Gen AI are being leveraged by malicious actors at speed, who can use them to create more sophisticated and targeted phishing, deepfake and malware attacks. 

ChatGPT maker OpenAI knows this more the most. The company, one of the biggest Gen AI startups around, is a leader in the technology as a result of pioneering research and breakthroughs, as well as its focus on innovation and advancing AI for societal good. 

The business has now stepped into the cybersecurity space for the first time, investing in Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity firm specialising in AI-powered social engineering prevention. 

“I’m thrilled to announce our $43 million investment round, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the OpenAI Startup Fund—marking OpenAI’s first-ever investment in a cybersecurity company,” said Adaptive Security’s CEO & Founder Brian Long in a blog post announcing the investment.

The rise of AI-powered attacks

For years, CISOs have faced a threat environment that shifts rapidly and is increasingly innovative and tech-heavy. 

That pace has quickened over the last years, particularly with the rise of AI. 

According to Darktrace’s most recent State of AI Cybersecurity report, leaders must prioritise strategies to stay ahead of the curve and harness the power of AI to evolve in line with attack sophistication. 

"The impact of AI on cybersecurity is clear and increasing. There are more employees and enterprise applications using AI that must be protected,” says Jill Popelka, CEO, Darktrace. 

“Adversaries are using it to make their attacks more targeted, scalable and successful. All of this is unfolding in a highly volatile geopolitical environment that is creating more uncertainty.”

Darktrace revealed that 26% of leaders say AI-powered cyber attacks are significantly impacting their organisations, with 49% believing they will have a major impact over the next two years. 

The report also revealed that 95% of leaders think AI can improve their ability to detect and prevent threats, while 88% say the use of AI is critical for enabling security teams to be more proactive in their defence. 

Protecting people and organisations

Adaptive Security is a New York-based startup that helps companies to defend against AI-powered cyber attacks. 

More than 100 enterprise clients have used the business since it launched in early 2023, including First State Bank, Podium, The Dallas Mavericks, and BMC.

The company’s platform helps companies embrace AI without compromising their security posture. 

Specifically, its technology helps protect against Gen AI social engineering attacks – a type of threat that relies on human interaction and psychological manipulation to trick people into divulging secure data or sensitive information. 

Common types of social engineering attack include various types of phishing attack through fraudulent emails or text messages, vishing and smishing attacks, and deepfakes. 

“Social engineering is already the leading cause of security breaches. Now, AI is increasing the efficacy and blast radius of these attacks,” says Brian.

“Attackers can generate realistic AI personas—deepfake versions of your coworkers, your CEO, even you—in seconds. These personas can make phone calls, send emails, or text your team using AI-generated content that sounds exactly right. They're built on top of open-source LLMs, trained on public databases, and fine-tuned to fool your defences.”

Fuelling secure growth

It is unclear how much OpenAI has invested in Adaptive Security through the latest investment round. 

Additional participants in the round include Abstract Ventures, CrossBeam Ventures and K5, as well as executives from Shopify and Google among others. 

Discussing the company's recent growth, Brian said: "Our mission is to protect people from AI-powered cyber attacks." He said the company would use the investment to continue developing its R&D team in order.

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