StealthMole raises $7M Collection A for its AI-powered darkish net intelligence platform 

StealthMole, an AI-powered darkish net intelligence startup that makes a speciality of monitoring cyber threats and detecting cybercrime, introduced Thursday that it has raised a $7 million Collection A funding spherical.

The Singapore-headquartered startup with an R&D workplace in South Korea will use the contemporary capital to ascertain extra R&D facilities and assist extra business makes use of of its expertise within the B2B sector and geographical enlargement.

“Having an R&D workplace in South Korea permits us to achieve vital insights into how hackers from East Asia function,” Simon Choi, chief expertise officer (CTO) at StealthMole, instructed TechCrunch. “Equally, having researchers from numerous backgrounds in Singapore for Southeast Asia, or in different distinctive areas, will assist us in analyzing information associated to neighboring international locations.”

StealthMole was co-founded in 2022 by Louis Hur (CEO), an enterprise IT safety knowledgeable and serial entrepreneur in cybersecurity, and Choi (CTO), a risk investigator and open supply intelligence (OSINT) profiler who beforehand labored as an adviser for the Nationwide Intelligence Service South Korea, the Nationwide Police Company, and the Ministry of Nationwide Protection in South Korea.

The startup serves over 50 purchasers throughout 17 international locations in Asia, Europe, and the Center East. Its present buyer base principally contains authorities and legislation enforcement companies for nationwide safety and cybersecurity groups inside enterprises, which handle cybersecurity incidents, analyze threats, and supply cybersecurity steerage and assist.

“StealthMole took place from a vital market hole I encountered whereas working in cybersecurity and white-hat hacking: a extreme lack of information factors and knowledge networks, particularly inside Asia,” Hur stated within the firm’s assertion. “On the identical time, information leaks, anonymized transactions, and all method of cybercrimes had been spiking — each attributable to malicious intent and human error. To raised perceive digital threats, it’s essential for legislation enforcement, intelligence companies, company safety groups, and cybersecurity consultants to analyse regional contexts and their impression on illicit actions.”

The outfit says it traces criminals utilizing 255 billion analyzed information factors from the darkish net, deep net and numerous hidden sources, together with leaked databases, cybercriminals’ blogs and Telegram.

One differentiator from its opponents within the cybersecurity business is its distinctive experience in Asia-related threats, Kevin Yoo, chief working officer (COO) at StealthMole, instructed TechCrunch. In line with a report by Examine Level Analysis, Asia witnessed the very best year-on-year surge in weekly cyberattacks within the first quarter of 2023 attributable to fast digital transformation; the rise of the hybrid workforce and Asia’s manufacturing business, like semiconductors that maintain mental property, may very well be a goal for cyber espionage.

“The excessive demand for Asia-oriented risk info underscores the individuality and worth of our dataset for purchasers worldwide, inside and past Asia,” Yoo stated. 

Korea Funding Companions led the Collection A spherical with participation from Hibiscus Fund (a three way partnership between RHL Ventures, Penjana Kapital and KB Funding) and Smilegate Funding.