AI Security Startup HiddenLayer Lands $100M to Protect AI Systems in Real Time

HiddenLayer, an Austin-based cybersecurity company, has raised $100 million in new funding to grow its AI runtime security business. The investment will be used to build out capabilities that protect AI systems while they are actively running, including the increasingly popular AI coding agents that many businesses now use to write and review software.

As more organisations adopt AI tools to speed up development and daily operations, these systems become new targets for attackers looking to manipulate them, steal data, or exploit weaknesses in how they process information. Runtime security aims to catch and stop malicious activity as it happens, rather than only relying on protections built in before deployment.

While this news centres on a large funding round rather than a new attack, it signals that AI-specific threats are becoming serious enough to attract major investment in defensive technology. Small and medium businesses using AI tools, even indirectly through software vendors, should be aware that securing AI systems is an emerging priority for the industry.