London-based cybersecurity start-up Innerworks has raised $4m in fresh seed funding to expand a novel approach it calls Synthetic Threat Intelligence. The round was led by AlbionVC, with participation from Digital Currency Group, Founders Capital, Firestreak Ventures, NVTBL Ventures, Metaversal Ventures and senior executives from Citi, UBS, Coinbase, Checkout.com, Apple and Crypto.com. Reports put the raise at about €3.4m–€3.7m depending on conversion.
The company argues that generative AI has supercharged online deception, enabling bots and fraudsters to mimic legitimate behaviour. “We’re facing AI-powered deception that can mimic legitimate users with frightening accuracy,” said Oliver Quie, Innerworks co-founder and chief executive. “Existing security companies have become obsolete because they assume threats will behave differently from legitimate users.”
Innerworks’ platform combines device fingerprinting, bot detection, VPN and proof-of-personhood signals with geolocation analytics. A continuous RedTeam programme feeds adversarial bypasses back into detection libraries so the models learn from the tactics of their opponents. The company claims a 97% detection rate against advanced AI threats, though these figures have yet to be independently verified.
Unlike standard bug-bounty programmes, RedTeam operates as a decentralised, gamified subnet on the Bittensor network. Contributors submit adversarial solutions, which are tested in sandbox environments; successful entries are added to open-source defensive libraries and rewarded with TAO tokens. The firm says the model accelerates learning and strengthens defences in real time.
Early traction has come through partnerships in payments and digital assets. Innerworks lists Crypto.com as a client, and incident-response specialist ZeroShadow described a strategic alliance with the firm after the ByBit incident to improve stolen-funds tracing and freezing.
Investor enthusiasm is strong. “We invested in Innerworks because they’re not incrementally improving fraud detection, they’re fundamentally reimagining it,” said Cat McDonald, partner at AlbionVC.
The company plans to use the funding to grow its RedTeam ecosystem, develop products and scale into major financial centres, highlighting ease of deployment through a minimal-code npm package.
Questions remain over regulatory acceptance of token-based incentives, procurement standards for financial institutions and the need for independent benchmarking of performance claims. Yet if Innerworks can deliver on its promises, it could position the UK at the forefront of responsible AI security — blending adversarial research with practical protection for banks, exchanges and online platforms.
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