The Internet today has a new concern. In addition to vibe coding tools and codebases, websites and apps built with them, security issues and blind spots have also grown.
Cybersecurity firm Guardio is targeting a new market born amid this flux: finding malicious code written using AI tools. The company says it has found that with AI tools, malicious actors are now finding it easier than ever to build 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 and phishing sites to build a tool that looks for artifacts in code and websites made with vibe coding tools.
It has already found a buyer. Earlier this month, Lovable announced a partnership with Guardio to scan all websites created on its platform and weed out those that may pose threats to users. The deal came after a report highlighted that several websites built on Lovable had gaping security holes.
“Everyone is racing for innovation and market capture. But security is kind of an afterthought. And not many AI tools partner with any cybersecurity company to ensure that content generated on their platform is secured and used forever,” Michael Vainshtein, the startup’s CTO, told TechCrunch.
To fund its expansion, the company has raised $80 million in a new institutional funding round led by ION Crossover Partners. Existing backers Union Tech Ventures, Vintage Investment Partners and Emerge also invested.
Guardio, founded in 2018 by Vainshtein, CEO Amos Peled, and chief architect Daniel Sirota, did not disclose its exact valuation, but it said it has tripled its valuation since its previous fundraise: a $47 million round led by Tiger Global in 2021. However, the company said it does not yet consider itself a unicorn.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
13.-15. October 2026
Guardio started 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 says it has 500,000 paying users today and claims it reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue this year.
Guardio is also launching new visibility features to tell users more about what documents they’ve shared publicly and if they have any sensitive information, along with notifying you about accounts that don’t have multi-factor authentication. The startup said these features are based on the company’s data loss prevention and SaaS Security Posture Management products.
“We use so many services and our data is so fragmented with so many security settings to deal with. We feel like every consumer is a business in itself,” Vainshtein said. “While we don’t want them to become 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 on letting users connect its tool to Outlook and Facebook to get more details about the security risks users may face with those accounts.
Peled noted that next year, the startup plans to bring some of the new visibility features to their free plan.
Gilad Shany, founder and partner at ION Crossover, said the investment firm had been monitoring the company for years, and while Guardio was not actively raising money, ION started a conversation with the company last year.
“We have been investors in both the cyber and consumer markets and have had several successful IPOs and exits. Guardio is the first company we are investing in at the intersection of these two markets – with a team that can lead best-in-class cyber product innovation while having an intimate knowledge of how to scale a direct-to-consumer business,” said Shany.