Heka, an AI engine designed to bolster financial institutions’ defenses against synthetic fraud and identity manipulation, has secured backing from Windare Ventures, Barclays, and other institutional investors.
Consumer fraud has reached an unprecedented high, with losses soaring to $12.5 billion last year, marking a 38% year-over-year increase. Burner behavior, synthetic profiles, and AI-generated content drive this surge. Traditional tools, from credit bureau data to velocity models, often fail to detect what’s happening online. Heka was developed to bridge this critical gap.
Inspired by the tradecraft of the intelligence community, Heka analyzes publicly available web data to help financial institutions gain a deeper understanding of their customers beyond static files. Its proprietary AI engine constructs digital profiles that reveal alias use, reputational exposure, and behavioral anomalies. This enables financial institutions to detect synthetic activity, connect with genuine customers, and act with confidence and speed.
At the core of Heka’s web intelligence engine is an analyst-grade AI agent. Unlike legacy tools that depend on static files, scores, or blacklists, Heka’s AI processes vast amounts of web data to produce structured outputs such as fraud indicators, updated contact details, and contextual risk signals. In a recent deployment with a global payment processor, Heka’s AI engine successfully caught 65% of account takeover losses without disrupting legitimate user activity.
According to the company, Heka’s technology is already integrated into the workflows of leading banks, payment processors, and pension funds. Clients leverage Heka’s intelligence to support critical decisions, ranging from fraud mitigation to account management and recovery. The $14 million Series A round, led by Windare Ventures with participation from Barclays, Cornèr Banca, and other institutional investors, will accelerate Heka’s expansion into the U.S. and deepen its presence across the UK and Europe.
Heka was founded by Rafael Berber, former Global Head of Equity Trading at Merrill Lynch; Ishay Horowitz, a senior officer in the Israeli intelligence community; and Idan Bar-Dov, a fintech and high-tech lawyer. The broader team comprises intel analysts, data scientists, and domain experts in fraud, credit, and compliance.
KEY QUOTES:
“Heka’s offering stood out for its ability to address a critical need in financial services – helping institutions make faster, smarter decisions using trustworthy external data. We’re proud to support their continued growth as they scale in the U.S.”
Kester Keating, Head of US Principal Investments at Barclays
“Identity isn’t a fixed file anymore. It’s a stream of behavior. Heka does what most AI can’t: it actually works in the wild, delivering signals banks can use seamlessly in workflows.”
Ori Ashkenazi, Managing Partner at Windare Ventures
“The credit bureaus were built for another era. Today, both consumers and risk live online. Heka’s mission is to be the default source of truth for this new digital reality – always-on, accurate, and explainable.”
Idan Bar-Dov, the Co-founder and CEO of Heka
