Exein, the Italian cybersecurity company specializing in embedded IoT defense, has raised €70 million in Series C funding, marking a significant milestone in the race to secure AI-connected infrastructure. Backed by Balderton and a roster of prominent investors, this round pushes Exein’s total funding past $106 million and fuels its global expansion into the U.S. and Asia, while laying the groundwork for strategic M&A and product development.
This episode breaks down what sets Exein apart in a crowded field: its AI-enabled, device-level runtime protection tailored for IoT systems in critical sectors like healthcare, energy, automotive, robotics, and semiconductors. While most firms focus on perimeter or network security, Exein embeds its defenses directly into devices, ensuring compliance with emerging global regulations like the EU Cyber Resilience Act and offering real-time safeguards against a rising tide of AI-specific threats.
We also explore:
- The expanding attack surface created by the convergence of IoT and AI, and why traditional security tools are falling short
- How Exein’s model supports security-by-design at the firmware and runtime level
- The urgent need for protection against adversarial AI attacks, such as prompt injection, model theft, and data poisoning
- The growing push for runtime security solutions for LLMs and AI infrastructure, as generative models move into production environments
- Why the Series C round reflects strong investor confidence in embedded security, with parallels to recent M&A activity across AI runtime protection, identity access, and data loss prevention
Exein’s momentum is not just about market expansion—it’s a signal of where security is headed: toward deeply integrated, proactive defenses that recognize AI and IoT as inseparable components of future cyber risk. As the industry braces for new regulatory and adversarial challenges, embedded runtime security is becoming the next competitive frontier.
