Exein raises $270 million for ‘physical AI’ security
Italian cybersecurity startup Exein raised $270 million at a $1.7 billion valuation to expand protection for robots and connected devices.
Exein announced $270 million in new funding on September 15. The Headline-led round valued the company at $1.7 billion and will finance expansion in the United States and Asia-Pacific.
Investors and expansion plan
Sofina, Goldman Sachs, EIB Group, KfW Capital, T.Capital and existing investors participated. Exein also expanded a credit facility led by JPMorgan, but that debt facility is a separate financial instrument from the $270 million equity round.
The company plans to open a Bay Area office, expand its US team, grow in Japan and South Korea, and create capacity for possible acquisitions in Europe and the United States.
Protection embedded inside devices
Founded by Gianni Cuozzo in 2018, Exein embeds security software in the firmware and operating layers of robots, vehicles, industrial equipment and other connected devices. The aim is to stop malicious code before a machine acts in the physical world.
Exein says its technology operates across more than two billion devices and that its network sees about 5,000 new, non-repeating attacks each week. These figures come from the company and should not be treated as independent audit results.
A new model and sources
The company is training a security foundation model on two years of telemetry about machine behavior. An agentic architecture is planned by the end of 2026 and initial models in the first quarter of 2027; these are future targets, not finished products.
News date: September 15, 2026. Official Exein announcement: https://www.exein.io/blog/exein-raises-270m-at-1-7bn-valuation-to-build-the-security-layer-for-physical-ai ; Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/9fca2d3f-b689-4f08-801c-ee7f8475e7bc
Sources and image credits
This article was prepared by the Founders Cafe editorial team.
