Lasso Security raises $30M Series A to run AI guardrails without GPUs
What's the deal? AI security startup Lasso SecurityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $30 million in a Series A round led by ClearSky AdvisorsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, alongside the launch of LEAP, a guardrail for AI applications that runs on ordinary server processors with no graphics chip required. Entrée Capital, iAngelsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Singtel Innov8Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Mindset, and Swish DataDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also joined the round.
Why now? Enterprises that police production AI systems typically route every request through a second large language model, which needs accelerated hardware whether or not the request is dangerous. Lasso said the cost pushes most companies to inspect only part of their AI traffic and accept the risk on the rest.
What's the endgame? LEAP is transformer-free and returns a verdict in under five milliseconds, the company said, on its own benchmarks. A second engine, RAPID, handles the small share of decisions needing judgment against a plain-language policy, while a routing layer keeps most traffic off a GPU.
Co-founder and chief executive officer Elad Schulman said the question of whether enterprises would put AI in front of customers is "settled," and that they now need security that inspects not just what agents say but what they do. Co-founder and chief product officer Ophir Dror was blunter on rival approaches: "The concept of a guardian agent or agents overseeing other agents is great, unless you are the one paying the bill."
By the numbers: Revenue grew more than 500% over the past 12 months, the company said, without giving an absolute figure. Its software now covers tens of thousands of agents and billions of requests a month across financial services, insurance, hospitality, and automotive customers, including BMWDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, eToro, Fiverr, and the US Department of Homeland SecurityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What could go wrong? Lasso's speed and throughput claims rest on its own benchmarks, which remain unverified externally. The company built its product from the attacking side: during one test at a healthcare provider, its red team pulled every patient record and altered prescriptions — a sign of the stakes if guardrails fail.
The money funds more engineers across Lasso's Tel Aviv and New York offices, a push into federal and regulated-industry accounts, and wider sales coverage in North America and Europe. Founded in 2023 by Schulman and Dror, the company has now raised more than $37 million, building on a $6 million seed round led by Entrée Capital.
The signal: At $30 million, the round sits in the top 5% of Series A deals for Israeli deep-tech startups. It reflects a shift in AI security from monitoring what models say toward policing what autonomous agents do — and doing it cheaply enough to inspect every request, not just a sample.
Read more: siliconangle.com
Image credit: Lasso Security
