Ciphero, an enterprise AI security and verification company focused on governing and securing AI interactions across the workplace, has officially launched following the close of an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round.
The company has raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding, with the round co-led by Sovereign’s Capital and Chingona Ventures, both of which join as early strategic backers of the business.
Founded by Saoud Khalifah, best known as the founder of Fakespot which was acquired by Mozilla in 2023, Ciphero has been established to address what it describes as a growing security and governance gap created by the rapid adoption of generative and agentic AI within enterprise environments. The company is building what it calls the first enterprise-grade AI Verification Layer, designed to dynamically capture, verify and govern all AI interactions across an organisation, including both human-initiated and agentic activity.
Ciphero’s platform is intended to give enterprises visibility into how AI tools are being used across their workforce, including so-called Shadow AI, while enforcing policies to prevent sensitive data leakage and ensure compliance with standards such as SOC 2. By verifying AI interactions in real time, the company aims to help organisations safely integrate AI into everyday workflows without undermining security or regulatory obligations.
The new funding will be used to support Ciphero’s product development and early go-to-market efforts, as the company works with a select group of design partners to deploy its verification layer across enterprise environments. Ciphero also plans to expand its team as it builds out capabilities to support authorised AI usage, enterprise-wide governance and the identification of new opportunities for AI investment.
Alongside Khalifah, the founding team includes Rob Gross, his former Fakespot co-founder, who joins Ciphero as co-founder and COO, and Dr. Sen Tian, who joins as co-founder and CAIO. The company positions its approach as AI judging AI, using automated verification to identify risks, stop data loss and encourage responsible AI usage as adoption accelerates.
Saoud Khalifah, co-founder and CEO of Ciphero said, “AI is one of the major breakthroughs in technology that we’ve experienced since the introduction of the Internet and personal computing. However, along with the gains in productivity from AI, it also allows malicious actors to become better attackers, increasing the attack surface area for enterprises. We’re incredibly excited to be building an AI-native Verification Layer that allows companies to defend, secure and verify AI across the workplace, bringing confidence in adopting AI for the positives it brings.”
Rob Gross, co-founder and COO of Ciphero said, “As enterprise AI usage increases, the list of potential risk factors have grown in direct correlation. This will only intensify as the pace of AI product deployments accelerates. Ciphero allows enterprises to quickly understand what AI platforms their employees are using, how they are using them, and directs employees to approved AI channels. We have taken a novel approach by deploying AI that judges AI in order to stop data loss and encourage secure AI usage.”
Investors backing the round highlighted the growing urgency around AI governance and enterprise security as adoption scales across organisations of all sizes.
Samara Hernandez, founding partner at Chingona Ventures said, “Chingona Ventures is proud to back Ciphero as they build the critical verification and security layer enterprises need for responsible AI adoption. As AI becomes deeply embedded in everyday workflows, companies are struggling with data leakage, compliance risks, and a lack of visibility into how employees use AI tools. Ciphero solves this by giving organizations real-time observability, policy enforcement, and a powerful marketplace of AI verifiers that keep sensitive data safe without slowing innovation. We invested because we believe Saoud, Rob, and Sen are a rare repeat founding team with deep technical expertise, proven enterprise credibility, and a clear vision for how AI will shape the future of work. Ciphero aligns squarely with our thesis of enabling organizations to harness AI securely and responsibly, and we’re thrilled to support them as they set a new standard for AI trust and safety in the workplace.”
Phil Jung, partner at Sovereign’s Capital said, “Ciphero’s AI verification platform allows organizations to address a growing problem in the enterprise: managing AI interactions for security and compliance against company policies to keep sensitive information secure. We’re thrilled to back serial founders Saoud and Rob as they launch from stealth and deliver on Ciphero’s promise to ensure that the AI powered future is trustworthy and reliable.”
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