Dive Brief:

• Aim Security, an Israeli startup focused on helping businesses to securely use artificial intelligence tools, has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round, the company said Monday.

• Aim’s platform is designed to handle threats unique to AI, including sensitive data exposure, supply chain vulnerabilities and “harmful or manipulated outputs,” according to a press release.

• “At Aim, our mission is clear: to serve as the trusted AI security ally for enterprise security leaders and allow organizations to confidently unleash the potential of these technologies within their environment, knowing that Aim is their protection layer,” Aim CEO Matan Getz said in the release.

Dive Insight:

The announcement comes amid growing concerns about potential abuses of AI technologies, particularly “generative” kinds like Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT application.

The rapid adoption of AI tools is potentially making them “highly valuable” targets for malicious cyber actors, the National Security Agency warned in an April report.

Bad actors looking to steal sensitive data or intellectual property may seek to “co-opt” an organization’s AI systems to achieve such ends, according to the report, which recommended various defensive measures such as promoting a “security-aware” culture to minimize the risk of human error, as well as ensuring the organization’s AI systems are hardened to avoid security gaps and vulnerabilities.

In February, OpenAI said in a blog post that it terminated the accounts of five state-affiliated threat groups that were using the startup’s large language models to lay the groundwork for malicious hacking efforts. The company acted in collaboration with Microsoft threat researchers, the post said.

As enterprises increasingly embrace AI, security leaders are scrambling to address the unique privacy and security challenges posed by the technology, according to Aim’s press release.

“Aim seeks to empower businesses to harness the endless, revenue-boosting opportunities of increased growth and efficiency with AI while ensuring utmost security confidence,” the company said.

With its latest funding round, which was led by venture capital firm Canaan Partners, Aim has raised $28 million to date, the release said.