Imper.ai has launched with $28 million in funding as it seeks to establish a new standard for real-time defense against AI-driven impersonation and social engineering attacks. The round was led by Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures, with participation from Maple VC, Vessy VC, and Cerca Partners. The funding will support Imper.ai’s efforts to scale its platform and expand its presence across industries facing surging identity-based cyber threats.
The company’s technology detects impersonation risk across video, voice, and text-based platforms, including Zoom, Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, Google Workspace, and other enterprise communication systems. Its agentless platform analyzes security signals such as device telemetry, network diagnostics, digital persona behavior, and organizational context in order to identify malicious activity that traditional content-based scanning tools often miss. Imper.ai is already being deployed by enterprises in finance, healthcare, and technology as organizations seek stronger defenses amid a significant rise in AI-generated deception.
Industry data reflects the escalating urgency around impersonation attacks. Marks & Spencer recently experienced a social engineering ransomware incident that disrupted operations, halted online orders, and is projected to cost roughly $380 million in profit this year. The FBI has reported that business email compromise attacks resulted in $2.8 billion in losses in the past year. Deloitte estimates that AI-driven identity manipulation could reach $40 billion in annual losses in the United States by 2027. For many enterprises, identity has become the new attack surface as deepfakes, voice clones, and human-driven manipulation bypass existing security controls.
Cyber-intelligence leaders with experience in elite defense and research units founded Imper.ai. Co-Founder and CEO Noam Awadish previously served as Chief of Staff to the EVP of Autonomous Vehicles at Mobileye. CPO Anatoly Blighovsky led two cyber divisions and served as CISO of the intelligence unit 8200, while CTO Rom Dudkiewicz was a vulnerability researcher and section leader within the same organization. Their shared background in real-time threat analysis and operational security informed Imper.ai’s approach to stopping impersonation attacks at the root.
The company positions its platform as a foundational security layer for enterprises, enabling real-time verification across communications without disrupting workflows. As AI-generated deception becomes more sophisticated and accessible, investors and early adopters see a growing need for solutions that protect trust, maintain continuity, and reduce risk at the precise moment when identity validation matters most.
KEY QUOTES:
“AI-driven impersonation has become one of the biggest drivers of financial loss and reputational risk for enterprises. Gartner expects that by 2027, half of all enterprises will invest in anti-deepfake and disinformation-security tools, a clear sign this is no longer a niche issue. We built imper.ai to help CISOs strengthen their defenses and focus on prevention instead of crisis response.”
Noam Awadish, Co-Founder and CEO, imper.ai
“Social engineering attacks have become one of the toughest challenges in cybersecurity because people can no longer tell who’s real and who’s not. What stood out about imper.ai is how naturally it solves that problem. It gives companies the confidence that every call, message, and interaction is authentic, protecting trust, privacy, and business continuity at the same time.”
Erica Brescia, Managing Director, Redpoint Ventures
“Impersonation isn’t just a feature of modern attacks – it’s becoming the primary threat vector. Imper.ai is building what we believe will be a foundational layer of enterprise security: real-time verification at the point where human trust is most vulnerable. This is a category-defining company in the making. We’re proud to back this exceptional team.”
Barak Schoster, Partner at Battery Ventures and Board Member, imper.ai
