How imper.ai is Pioneering Real-Time Defense Against AI-Driven Impersonation and Social Engineering Cyber Attacks

Imper.ai, a pioneer in real-time cyber impersonation prevention, led by Noam Awadish, Anatoly Blighovsky, and Rom Dudkiewicz, has announced its public launch and $28 million in new funding from Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures, with participation from Maple VC, Vessy VC, and Cerca Partners.

Imper.ai’s platform identifies impersonation risks in real time, maintaining privacy and accuracy across widely used communication platforms including Zoom, Teams, and Slack. By analyzing multiple security signals across network devices and digital personas, the platform detects malicious behavior that traditional tools often miss.

The new funding will accelerate Imper.ai’s expansion and its mission to stop impersonation, including deepfakes, voice clones, and social engineering attacks, at the source. Enterprises in finance, healthcare, and technology are already deploying the platform to strengthen trust in digital communications.

Recent incidents highlight the stakes: a social-engineering ransomware breach at Marks & Spencer disrupted operations and supply chains, projected to cost roughly $380 million in profit this year, while the FBI reported $2.8 billion in losses from business email compromise scams last year. AI-driven attacks, including deepfakes and voice cloning, are making impersonation easier, with Deloitte estimating potential U.S. losses of $40 billion annually by 2027. These developments underscore how identity has become a critical attack surface, exceeding the protections offered by traditional identity and content filtering tools.

“AI-driven impersonation has emerged as a major source of financial loss and reputational risk for enterprises,” said Noam Awadish, Co-Founder and CEO of Imper.ai. “Gartner projects that by 2027, half of all enterprises will invest in anti-deepfake and disinformation-security tools, underscoring that this is no longer a niche concern. Imper.ai was developed to enable CISOs to prioritize prevention over crisis response.”

Founded by cyber-intelligence veterans Noam Awadish (CEO, formerly Chief of Staff to the EVP of Autonomous Vehicles at Mobileye), Anatoly Blighovsky (CPO, former head of two cyber divisions and CISO of elite intelligence unit 8200), and Rom Dudkiewicz (CTO, vulnerability researcher and section leader at elite intelligence unit 8200), Imper.ai delivers real-time impersonation detection and prevention at the first point of contact across video, phone, and chat.

Instead of scanning content for anomalies, the platform analyzes digital breadcrumbs that attackers cannot fake, device telemetry, network diagnostics, and behavioral markers, cross-referenced with organizational knowledge. The agentless solution operates silently across systems, including Zoom, Teams, Slack, WhatsApp, Google Workspace, ATS, and IT Help Desk platforms, enabling trust without disrupting workflows.

“Social engineering attacks have become one of the most challenging cybersecurity threats, as distinguishing real from fake interactions grows increasingly difficult,” said Erica Brescia, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures. “Imper.ai addresses this challenge by ensuring that calls, messages, and interactions are authentic, protecting trust, privacy, and business continuity simultaneously.”

“Impersonation is evolving into a primary threat vector for modern attacks,” said Barak Schoster, Partner at Battery Ventures and board member of Imper.ai. “Imper.ai is establishing a foundational layer of enterprise security through real-time verification at the point where human trust is most vulnerable, positioning the company as a category-defining leader.”