StealthMole, an Asia-based dark web data intelligence company, announced it raised $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Korea Investment Partners (KIP) and joined by Hibiscus Fund (a multinational joint venture between RHL Ventures, Penjana Kapital, and KB Investment) and Smilegate Investment.
StealthMole will use this new funding round to strengthen its global expansion efforts and further develop its technology use cases for various sectors.
The cost of defending against cyber threats is expected to double in the next three years, reaching as much as $23 trillion by 2027. Launched in response to growing cybersecurity needs, StealthMole is an AI-enabled digital investigation and threat monitoring platform focusing on detecting and mitigating cybercrime in the Asian region.
The company is headed by Louis Hur (who previously founded a South Korean cybersecurity firm) and Simon Choi (a leading threat investigator and former adjunct professor with extensive experience with South Korea’s national police and intelligence services).
StealthMole’s technology traces criminals by scanning 255 billion analyzed data points from the dark web, deep web, and various hidden sources while leveraging advanced AI.
KEY QUOTES:
“StealthMole came about from a critical market gap I encountered while working in cybersecurity and white-hat hacking: a severe lack of data points and information networks specifically within Asia. At the same time, data leaks, anonymized transactions, and all manner of cybercrimes were spiking — both due to malicious intent and human error. To better understand digital threats, it’s crucial for law enforcement, intelligence agencies, corporate security teams, and cybersecurity experts to analyze regional contexts and their impact on illicit activities.”
- Louis Hur, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of StealthMole
“As organisations across the world continue to digitise, cybercrimes will not only become more rampant but also more advanced. StealthMole has shown tremendous agility in this regard, aggressively growing its AI and machine learning capabilities for seamless investigation by building correlations across multiple data sources from the dark web itself to insulated platforms like Telegram. We feel strongly about the impact StealthMole will have in making the world a better place.”
- Kim Min-Q, Managing Director at KIP
“This investment reflects our confidence in StealthMole’s vision for continued success, particularly in uncovering emerging cyber threats across Southeast Asia and positioning themselves as global leaders originating from Asia.”
- Steven Hong, Principal at KB Investment
“The StealthMole team comprises highly recognized security specialists within the industry, and this expertise is something we appreciate as long-time catalysts of tech startup expansion. Smilegate Investment is excited to support their continued international growth, especially as they branch out into more commercial uses. For example, South Korea is one of the world’s premier gaming hubs, and would appreciate safer gaming experiences and greater protection of creators’ intellectual property.”
- Park Jung-In, Senior Vice President of Smilegate Investment
