Volantis raises $88 million to create new AI inference architecture

As artificial intelligence grows rapidly, the activity of malicious actors is increasing at the same pace, using advanced AI models to turn new vulnerabilities into fully functional exploits in just a few hours. Traditional penetration testing methods cannot cope with this alarming speed, as they only issue isolated alerts lacking real context, creating serious gaps in enterprise security.

To bridge this gap, Armadin raised $255.5 million in a Series B funding round, achieving a valuation of $2.5 billion just seven months after exiting stealth mode. Existing defense methods are ineffective because human security teams operate in a standard mode, trying to keep up with autonomous scripts that function around the clock.

Attackers often gain the upper hand because they do not view network weaknesses in isolation; they skillfully link small, seemingly insignificant configuration errors with unauthenticated remote execution vulnerabilities. Before many companies can react, hackers gain access to their cloud infrastructure. Standard security tools simply generate huge lists of generic warnings.

CEO Kevin Mandia and his team at Armadin changed this situation by attacking themselves in a safe, controlled environment. Armadin deploys a highly autonomous swarm of specialized AI agents directly into an organization's production environment. These agents are capable of reasoning, adapting, and acting like elite, state-sponsored hackers searching for entry points.

By identifying exploitable paths, moving through the network, and linking vulnerabilities, they create a confirmed attack chain. This allows enterprise and government security teams to get a clear picture of the potential scope of a breach before it happens, thereby leveling the playing field between defense and attack.

Recognizing the growing threat facing the AI industry, Armadin has received significant backing from major enterprises. In seven months since leaving stealth mode, the startup reached a $2.5 billion valuation. The latest $255.5 million Series B round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Accel, injecting substantial capital into realizing their vision. New investors include Bain Capital Ventures and Redpoint, while industry giants such as Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, 8VC, Ballistic Ventures, and In-Q-Tel enthusiastically joined them.

This increases Armadin's total funding to an impressive $445 million. The investment community clearly sees the trend: AI is not just a buzzword, but the most significant platform shift in cybersecurity history. The old guard is actively being replaced by intelligent, offensive defense.

With the new capital infusion, Armadin plans to aggressively scale its agentic security platform globally. The funds will be directed towards accelerating cutting-edge research, intensive training of hyper-attack AI models, and powerful market entry. The company is already conducting simulations of high-risk campaigns for Fortune 500 giants and leading government agencies where the stakes are extremely high.

As adversaries continue to arm artificial intelligence relentlessly, creating proactive defenses trained against the best possible attack is no longer a luxury—it is the only viable path forward.

The corporate startup Ema, founded by former Google and Coinbase executive Surajjit Chatterjee, has successfully closed a Series B funding round, raising $77 million. The round was led by Creaegis.

Investors such as Accel, S32, and Prosus also participated in the round. According to the startup, this funding increases its valuation fourfold, although the exact valuation amount was not disclosed.

Ema plans to use the raised funds to expand its product market rollout operations and enter new geographical regions, including the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The company was founded in 2023 and has headquarters in California, along with an office in Bengaluru.

Surajjit Chatterjee, founder and CEO of Ema, noted that 'corporations don't need more software; they need results. Our latest funding round will help us drive agentic business transformation in enterprises that are still stuck in pilot purgatory.'

Ema has developed an agent platform that allows enterprises to automate workflows in functions such as Human Resources (HR) and finance. The startup claims that its product-oriented model enables companies to implement and scale AI capabilities without the need for complex service support.

The company has moved beyond the stage of pilot projects and concepts, beginning to provide AI agent-based solutions for large enterprises. Its clients include Wipro, Hitachi, and NTT Data.

For example, at Wipro, the Ema platform powers an employee assistant that supports over 240,000 employees across 65 countries. The system automates over 100 workflows and processes approximately 2.9 million employee queries annually. The company reports that response time has decreased from days to seconds, and employee satisfaction has increased by 20%.

Prakash Partasarathi, Managing Partner and CTO of Creaegis, emphasized: 'The Ema platform already supports millions of employee interactions in some of the world's largest organizations, delivering measurable results required for management. Ema has created a scalable, productive platform with exceptional cost-efficiency, rather than a service model dependent on individual implementations.'

Ande, which has emerged from stealth mode, announced the raising of over $52 million in funding, combining seed and Series A rounds. Leaders of this round included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Duration Ventures, and Sierra Ventures; Bain Capital Ventures also participated in the financing.

The company's main goal is to service large enterprises' expenses for corporate events. These expenses include client dinners, team outings, sporting events, catering, and corporate gifts. Enterprises are estimated to spend around $325 billion annually on such activities.

Despite significant spending, the booking process remains fragmented across various systems. Ande solves this problem by integrating all these activities into a single corporate platform. Employees can book experiences while finance and legal departments maintain control over expenditures. The company spent two and a half years digitizing venue data.

The platform uses agent workflows to automate administrative tasks. These workflows can identify suitable venues, route requests for approval, and manage contracts. Furthermore, they support payments and expense reconciliation, significantly reducing manual work for teams managing corporate entertainment programs.

Ande provides a shared workspace for employees involved in corporate entertainment. Executive assistants and office managers can handle requests alongside marketing teams. Managers can also participate in approval processes through the same platform. Then, AI agents advance requests through stages of approval, signing, and payment.

Currently, the platform is used by over 60 enterprises. Among Ande's clients are Cloudflare, Salesforce, McGraw Hill, and Netskope. Other clients include Navan, Sigma Computing, Monday.com, Workato, and Semgrep. These clients account for over $400 million in annual entertainment spending through Ande, with clients reporting savings of 12% to 15%.

The platform also provides teams with better transparency regarding their entertainment programs. Ande's model addresses both sides of each transaction: companies gain procurement infrastructure, and venues gain access to corporate buyers. The company has also trained its AI model for enterprise-specific entertainment workflows.

Ande's network includes over 93,000 entertainment venues, and currently, more than 1,600 hotel properties are direct partners of the platform. Partners include Altamarea Group, Che Fico, and Gracious Hospitality. Other partners include JKS and The Mina Group. Tao Group Hospitality and Wolfgang Puck are also among its hospitality sector partners. Ande provides these companies access to corporate clients through a single distribution channel, as venues traditionally lacked specialized corporate sales networks.

Ande aims to fill this gap through its marketplace. The platform allows venues to offer their services to corporate buyers and interact with companies and manage transactions through the network. This forms a two-sided model for Ande.

Enterprises gain easier access to venues, and the hospitality industry gains corporate demand. Ande's new funding will be directed towards further developing its native AI platform, as well as expanding its network among corporate buyers and venues.

CEO Lohit Sarma emphasized that entertainment plays an important role in business relationships, highlighting its significance for culture, sales, and client interaction. Venture investors also see opportunities in this fragmented market.

Arif Janmohamed from Lightspeed Venture Partners described Ande as a bridge between companies and venues. Alex Bard, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures, noted Sarma's experience in the enterprise space and the founder's ambition. Ande positions itself as the infrastructure for corporate entertainment, and its AI agents are designed to reduce the administrative burden across the entire booking process. The company's growth will depend on expanding both sides of its network.