The Internet today has a new concern. Alongside the vibe coding tools and codebases, websites and apps built with them, safety Issues and blind spots have also multiplied.
Cyber security company Guardio is targeting a new market born out of this flow: finding malicious code written with AI tools. The company he says found that with artificial intelligence tools, it is now easier than ever for malicious actors to create scam and phishing websites and the infrastructure needed to run them.
Now, Guardio is leveraging its experience building browser extensions and apps that scan for malicious websites and phishing to create a tool that looks for code artifacts and websites built with vibe coding tools.
A buyer has already been found. Earlier this month, Lovable announced partnership with Guardio to scan all websites created on its platform and eliminate those that may pose threats to users. The deal came after a report highlighted it Several sites built on Lovable had open security holes.
“Everyone is racing to innovate and capture the market. But security is an afterthought. And there aren’t many AI tools that work with any cybersecurity company to ensure that the content created on their platform is safe and used for good,” Michael Vainshtein, the startup’s CTO, told TechCrunch.
To fund its expansion, the company has raised $80 million in a new round of institutional funding led by ION Crossover Partners. Existing backers Union Tech Ventures, Vintage Investment Partners and Emerge also invested.
Guardiofounded in 2018 by Vainshtein, CEO Amos Peled and chief architect Daniel Sirota, did not disclose its exact valuation, but said it has tripled its valuation from its previous fundraising: a $47 million round led by Tiger Global in 2021. The company, however, still considers it unicor.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
13-15 October 2026
Guardio began as a browser extension that would monitor malicious websites and alert users to data leaks. Since then, it has added phishing protection and built mobile apps that offer identity management, spam filtering and fraud protection. The company today says it has 500,000 paying users and claims it hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue this year.
Guardio is also launching new visibility features to let users know more about the documents they’ve shared publicly and whether they have sensitive information, as well as alert you to accounts that don’t have multi-factor authentication. The startup said these capabilities build on its Data Loss Prevention and SaaS Security Pose Management products.
“We use so many services and our data is so fragmented with so many security settings that we have to deal with. We believe that every consumer is a business in itself,” said Vainshtein. “While we don’t want them to be responsible for the security of their accounts, we do want to offer visibility into their accounts that businesses have.”
The startup said it is working to allow users to connect its tool to Outlook and Facebook to show more details about security risks users may face with those accounts.
Peled noted that next year, the startup plans to bring some of the new viewing features to its free subscription plan.
Gilad Shany, founder and partner at ION Crossover, said the investment firm had been eyeing the company for years, and although Guardio was not actively fundraising, ION began a conversation with the company last year.
“We’ve been investors in both the cyber and consumer markets and have had multiple successful IPOs and exits. Guardio is the first company we’ve invested in at the intersection of these two markets – having a team that can lead the best product innovation in cyber while having deep knowledge of how to scale a direct-to-consumer business,” said Shany.
