StealthMole raises $7M in Series A for AI-powered dark web intelligence platform

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stealth mallThe company, an AI-powered dark web intelligence startup specializing in cyber threat monitoring and cybercrime detection, announced Thursday that it has raised $7 million in a Series A funding round.

Headquartered in Singapore with an R&D office in South Korea, the startup plans to use the new capital to establish additional R&D centers to support commercial use of its technology in the B2B space and geographic expansion. is.

“Having an R&D office in South Korea gives us important insight into how hackers in East Asia operate,” said Simon Choi, StealthMole’s CTO. told TechCrunch. “Similarly, having researchers with diverse backgrounds in Singapore and other unique locations in Southeast Asia will help us analyze data relevant to neighboring countries.”

StealthMole was founded in 2022 by Louis Hur (CEO), an enterprise IT security expert and serial cybersecurity entrepreneur, and Choi (CTO), previously a threat researcher and open source intelligence (OSINT) profiler. Co-founded. South Korean National Intelligence Service, National Police Agency, South Korean Ministry of Defense.

The startup serves more than 50 clients in 17 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Current customer base primarily includes government and law enforcement agencies responsible for national security and corporate cybersecurity teams managing cybersecurity incidents, analyzing threats, and providing cybersecurity guidance and support. It is.

“StealthMole was born out of a critical market gap that I encountered while working in the cybersecurity and white hat hacking field: a severe lack of data points and information networks, especially in Asia,” said Hur. said in a company statement. “At the same time, we were seeing a spike in data breaches, anonymized transactions, and cybercrime of all kinds, both due to malicious intent and human error. To better understand digital threats, It is critical that law enforcement, intelligence agencies, corporate security teams, and cybersecurity professionals analyze the local situation and its impact on illegal activity.”

The organization claims to track criminals using 255 billion analytical data points from the dark web, deep web, and various hidden sources such as leaked databases, cybercriminal blogs, and Telegram. states.

One of the differentiators from competitors in the cybersecurity industry is its unique expertise in Asia-related threats, StealthMole chief operating officer Kevin Yoo told TechCrunch.according to Report by Check Point Research, Asia recorded the highest year-on-year increase in weekly cyberattacks in the first quarter of 2023 Due to rapid digital transformation; The rise of a hybrid workforce and the semiconductor and other industries in Asia that hold intellectual property could become targets for cyberespionage.

“The high demand for Asia-oriented threat intelligence underscores the uniqueness and value of our dataset to customers around the world, both within Asia and beyond,” Yoo said.

Korea Investment Partners led the Series A round, with participation from Hibiscus Fund (a joint venture of RHL Ventures, Penjana Kapital, and KB Investment) and Smilegate Investment.