This Month's AI Agents News

Four Ways to Deploy More Secure AI Agents | NVIDIA Technical Blog

# Four Ways to Deploy More Secure AI Agents Jul 30, 2026 Over the past six months, the NVIDIA AI Red Team has assessed multiple AI agents—from simple interactive coding tools to always-on autonomous digital assistants. ## Tags [Agentic AI / Generative AI](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/category/generative-ai/) | [Trustworthy AI / Cybersecurity](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/category/cybersecurity/) | [General](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/recent-posts/?industry=General) | [Intermediate Technical](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/recent-posts/?learning_levels=Intermediate+Technical) | [Deep dive](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/recent-posts/?content_types=Deep+dive) | [AI Agent](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/tag/ai-agent/) | [AI Red Team](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/tag/ai-red-team/)

Developer 3 weeks, 5 days ago

Encore AI Raises $30 Million to Expand Enterprise AI Platform

# Encore AI Raises $30 Million to Expand Enterprise AI Platform Agentic customer interaction platform [Encore AI](https://www.gainencore.ai/) has raised $30 million in new funding. ## Get the Full Story In other agentic AI news, recent PYMNTS Intelligence research produced in collaboration with [Visa Acceptance Solutions](https://www.visaacceptance.com/en-us.html) shows that many consumers are willing to let AI agents search across merchants when shopping online. They will also let agents manage loyalty programs and surface deals,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, referencing [“The Global Digital Shopping Index: The Agentic Commerce Deep Dive.”](https://www.pymnts.com/study/global-digital-shopping-index-agentic-commerce-deep-dive/) #### Recommended See More In:[Agentic AI](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/agentic-ai/), [AI Agents](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/ai-agents/), [AI funding](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/ai-funding/), [enterprise AI](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/enterprise-ai/), [funding](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/funding/), [News](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/news/), [PYMNTS News](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/pymnts-news/), [What's Hot](https://www.pymnts.com/tag/whats-hot/) #### Featured News [AI Makes Strong Payments Enterprises Stronger](https://www.pymnts.com/opinion/2026/agentic-payments-start-with-the-right-foundation/)

Pymnts 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Natural Secures $30M Series A to Build Payments Infrastructure for AI Agents

Natural has raised a $30 million Series A led by Kirsten Green at Forerunner, with continued backing from existing investors, bringing the company's total.

Theaiinsider 3 weeks, 6 days ago

When AI Becomes the Attacker: Understanding Autonomous Offensive Security Agents

# When AI Becomes the Attacker: Understanding Autonomous Offensive Security Agents ### Deep Dive: Leading AI Red-Team Tools #### 2. Strix — The Open-Source “Find and Fix” Pentest Agent Strix markets itself as “autonomous AI hackers that find and fix your app’s vulnerabilities.” #### 6. PentAGI — Autonomous Execution Agent **Type:** Open-source autonomous agent

Resecurity 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Rogue OpenAI agent hit a second company during hacking spree

# Rogue OpenAI agent hit a second company during hacking spree [TECH & STARTUP](https://www.thedailystar.net/news/tech-startup) Tech & Startup Desk  Illustration: Tech & Startup Desk The autonomous AI agent that escaped OpenAI’s control and hacked Hugging Face earlier this month also compromised a customer account on the platform of New York-based Modal Labs, making it the second confirmed victim of the model’s days-long rampage, according to a Modal executive and two other sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Reuters. A timeline published by Hugging Face on Tuesday confirmed that the agent first breached a sandbox hosted on an unnamed third-party provider before using it as a launchpad, according to the Reuters report. OpenAI, also updating its account on Tuesday, disclosed that the agent broke into four accounts across four separate services. The company did not name those services, but a person familiar with the matter identified Modal as one. The company added that it has since “deactivated, encrypted, and restricted” the tested AI model from research access.

Thedailystar 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Israeli cyber startup raises $113m to secure and control autonomous AI agents

Team at AI security startup Onyx Security. Israeli cyber startup Onyx Security announced on Thursday that it has nabbed $113 million in funding to build a platform that lets humans stay in control, as advanced autonomous systems and smart artificial intelligence agents ramp up in the workplace. To date, the startup has raised $153 million. Bar Kogan and Elbaz said they teamed up to develop a platform to secure and control AI agents, as advanced AI systems are adopted faster than traditional enterprise security systems can keep up. The startup said its technology secures more than 1.1 million agents for customers. - [AI agents](https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/ai-agents/)

Timesofisrael 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Okta agrees to acquire Permiso Security to protect AI agents

# Okta agrees to acquire Permiso Security to protect AI agents ## Deal context and its market impact Recently, the startup expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identifiers. In April, the startup also introduced SandyClaw, a platform for analyzing AI-agent skills in a sandbox to detect malicious behavior before deployment.

Mezha 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Silicon Valley’s AI Giants Go Shopping Off Their Turf

# Silicon Valley’s AI Giants Go Shopping Off Their Turf ## **Cognition Bought a Texting Agent** The two deals landed within days of each other. [Cognition](https://cognition.com/), the startup behind autonomous coding agent [Devin](https://devin.ai/), [announced](https://cognition.com/blog/interaction) July 23 that it acquired [Poke](https://poke.com/), an AI agent that lives inside text messages and talks less like software and more like a friend who won’t stop checking in on you. Poke exchanged more than 100 million messages in its first three months and is the only AI agent [Apple](https://www.apple.com/) has approved to run natively inside [Messages](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/messages/id1146560473), Cognition said in its announcement. “It’s proactive, it knows you, and it’s fun to talk to,” Cognition Co-Founder [Scott Wu](https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wu-8b94ab96/) said in the announcement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but TechCrunch [reported](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/24/why-cognition-bought-poke-ai-personality-is-becoming-a-competitive-advantage/) Friday (July 24) that the deal landed in the “low nine figures.” ## **OpenAI Bought a Medical Records Startup** Cognition builds agents to write code and bought one that writes texts. #### Featured News [AI Makes Strong Payments Enterprises Stronger](https://www.pymnts.com/opinion/2026/agentic-payments-start-with-the-right-foundation/)

Pymnts 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Okta buys identity threat startup Permiso for roughly $200 million as AI agents become enterprise security's newest weak spot

[Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstartupfortune.com%2Fokta-buys-identity-threat-startup-permiso-for-roughly-200-million-as-ai-agents-become-enterprise-securitys-newest-weak-spot%2F&text=Okta%20buys%20identity%20threat%20startup%20Permiso%20for%20roughly%20%24200%20million%20as%20AI%20agents%20become%20enterprise%20security%27s%20newest%20weak%20spot%20-%20Startup%20Fortune)[Share on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstartupfortune.com%2Fokta-buys-identity-threat-startup-permiso-for-roughly-200-million-as-ai-agents-become-enterprise-securitys-newest-weak-spot%2F)[Share on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=Okta%20buys%20identity%20threat%20startup%20Permiso%20for%20roughly%20%24200%20million%20as%20AI%20agents%20become%20enterprise%20security%27s%20newest%20weak%20spot%20-%20Startup%20Fortune%20https%3A%2F%2Fstartupfortune.com%2Fokta-buys-identity-threat-startup-permiso-for-roughly-200-million-as-ai-agents-become-enterprise-securitys-newest-weak-spot%2F)[Share on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstartupfortune.com%2Fokta-buys-identity-threat-startup-permiso-for-roughly-200-million-as-ai-agents-become-enterprise-securitys-newest-weak-spot%2F&title=Okta%20buys%20identity%20threat%20startup%20Permiso%20for%20roughly%20%24200%20million%20as%20AI%20agents%20become%20enterprise%20security%27s%20newest%20weak%20spot%20-%20Startup%20Fortune)[Share via Email](mailto:?subject=Okta%20buys%20identity%20threat%20startup%20Permiso%20for%20roughly%20%24200%20million%20as%20AI%20agents%20become%20enterprise%20security%27s%20newest%20weak%20spot%20-%20Startup%20Fortune&body=https%3A%2F%2Fstartupfortune.com%2Fokta-buys-identity-threat-startup-permiso-for-roughly-200-million-as-ai-agents-become-enterprise-securitys-newest-weak-spot%2F) [Four DOGE alumni raise at a…](https://startupfortune.com/four-doge-alumni-raise-at-a-14-billion-valuation-for-cathedral-a-stealth-military-cybersecurity-startup-

Startupfortune 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Can Legacy Data Security Survive the Velocity of Autonomous AI Agents?

# Can Legacy Data Security Survive the Velocity of Autonomous AI Agents?  ## What Is Covered in This Article: **The News:** On July 30, Bedrock Data announced Agent DLP, a runtime data loss prevention tool engineered specifically for autonomous AI agents and integrated directly into the company’s ArgusAI suite. ## Can Legacy Data Security Survive the Velocity of Autonomous AI Agents? An agent inherits a massive blast radius on day one, transforming a highly useful automation tool into a severe compliance liability. They watch the front door while remaining entirely oblivious to what the agent is doing with the data inside the house. ## What to Watch: ### Author Information #### [MinIO Launches AIStor Memory for Agentic AI’s Durable Context Layer](https://futurumgroup.com/insights/minio-launches-aistor-memory-for-agentic-ais-durable-context-layer/) Alastair Cooke, analyst at Futurum, shares insights on MinIO's AIStor Memory launch, which folds agent memory, workspace, and secrets into a single enterprise-controlled data type, and what it signals about...

Futurumgroup 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Onyx raises $113m to keep humans in control of AI agents

 **[Onyx](https://www.onyx.security/), a security company behind the Secure AI Control Plane, has closed a $113m Series B round to help enterprises govern the growing number of AI agents operating inside their organisations.** The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with backing from Cyberstarts, TCV, Conviction, FirstMark, Vintage Investment Partners, QuantumLight and G Squared. ### [Straiker raises $64m to lock down the AI agent era](https://fintech.global/2026/06/30/straiker-raises-64m-to-lock-down-the-ai-agent-era/) June 30, 2026 [AddToAny](https://www.addtoany.com/) [More…](https://fintech.global/2026/07/30/onyx-raises-113m-to-keep-humans-in-control-of-ai-agents/#addtoany)

Fintech 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Hush Security says the AI security problem has shifted from protecting models to governing identities as autonomous agents spread

The company, which [earlier this week announced a $30 million Series A](https://www.hush.security/resources/hush-security-raises-30m-to-close-the-ai-agent-governance-gap-with-akamai-joining-as-strategic-investor/?utm_source=Rounda&utm_medium=LI&utm_campaign=Aug&utm_id=PR) round led by returning investors Battery Ventures and YL Ventures with Akamai Technologies joining as a strategic investor, argues that organizations are rapidly moving beyond experimenting with generative AI assistants and into deploying autonomous software agents that require an entirely different security model. This is a pertinent and urgent question ever since [Hugging Face revealed in mid-July it was hacked by an autonomous AI agent](https://venturebeat.com/security/openais-models-broke-containment-and-cyberattacked-hugging-face-what-enterprises-need-to-know), later identified as an OpenAI test agent running internally that escaped its secure sandbox, powered in part by an unreleased model. ## More The announcement, made from the company's no-headquarters base in Bozeman, Montana, is Snowflake's most aggressive move yet to position itself not merely as the place where enterprise data lives, but as the control plane that decides what AI agents are allowed to do with it. The company announced [MAI-Cyber-1-Flash](https://microsoft.ai/news/introducing-mai-cyber-1-flash-inside-mdash/), a compact security model developed in-house by its [Microsoft AI (MAI)](https://microsoft.ai/) division, embedded inside [MDASH](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/05/12/defense-at-ai-speed-microsofts-new-multi-model-agentic-security-system-tops-leading-industry-benchmark/), Microsoft's multi-agent harness for finding and fixing software vulnerabilities. [![An AI agent breached Langflow twice, then encrypted model checkpoints that cost up to $500,000 to rebuild](https://venturebeat.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fjdtwqhzvc2n1%2F7dthRFBhgUb9AVWD9OtiiK%2F75a3bffbb7ad46560bf

Venturebeat 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Okta buys AI security startup Permiso — source says for about $200M

# Okta buys AI security startup Permiso — source says for about $200M Okta on Thursday [agreed to acquire](https://www.okta.com/newsroom/press-releases/okta-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-permiso-security/) AI identity security startup [Permiso Security](https://permiso.io/), betting that demand for protecting AI agents and other machine identities will grow as enterprises deploy autonomous software across their operations. More recently, the startup has expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identities. In April, the startup also [introduced SandyClaw](https://permiso.io/blog/introducing-sandyclaw-dynamic-sandbox-ai-agent-skills), a platform designed to analyze AI agent skills in a sandboxed environment to identify malicious behavior before they are deployed. [AI](https://techcrunch.com/category/artificial-intelligence/), [AI agents](https://techcrunch.com/tag/ai-agents/), [Exclusive](https://techcrunch.com/tag/exclusive/), [Okta](https://techcrunch.com/tag/okta/), [Permiso](https://techcrunch.com/tag/permiso/), [Security](https://techcrunch.com/category/security/), [Startups](https://techcrunch.com/category/startups/), [United States](https://techcrunch.com/region/north-america/united-states/)

Techcrunch 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Shadow AI, leadership resistance make AI governance tough for worried CISOs

# Shadow AI, leadership resistance make AI governance tough for worried CISOs  A billboard advertising an agentic AI tool is displayed in San Francisco on June 30, 2026. ### **Dive Brief:** - AI agents remain a major cybersecurity risk for businesses, with 81% of CISOs worrying that their AI systems aren’t properly governed, according to [a report Okta published on Wednesday](https://www.okta.com/newsroom/articles/global-ciso-insights-2026/). ## Company Announcements [Realm Security Debuts Detection Integrity to Prove that Reducing SIEM Log Volume Never Breaks …\ \ \ From Realm.Security\ \ July 28, 2026\ \ ](https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/press-release/20260728-realm-security-debuts-detection-integrity-to-prove-that-reducing-siem-log-v-1/) [AppViewX Arms Enterprise CLM Teams for Post-Quantum Migration and AI Adoption in Latest Produc…\ \ \ From AppViewX\ \ July 22, 2026\ \ ](https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/press-release/20260721-appviewx-arms-enterprise-clm-teams-for-post-quantum-migration-and-ai-adopti/) [Fig Expands SecOps Engineering Lifecycle as Security Teams Seek More Resilient Infrastructure\ \ \ From TVC Analyst Editorial Team\ \ July 21, 2026](https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/press-release/20260721-fig-expands-secops-engineering-lifecycle-as-security-teams-seek-more-resili-1/) [Upwind Research Shows Attackers Are Expanding Beyond Single npm Packages t

Cybersecuritydive 3 weeks, 6 days ago

AI Agents Are Acting Like Employees. Who Is Accountable?

# AI Agents Are Acting Like Employees. Who Is Accountable? Jul 30, 2026, 12:00pm EDT 0:00 / 6:36 AI Agents Are Acting Like Employees. ## Summary TOPSHOT - A robot using artificial intelligence is displayed at a stand during the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on May 30, 2024.

Forbes 3 weeks, 6 days ago

PointGuard AI Advances Enterprise Agentic AI Security with Agent Mission Control

# PointGuard AI Advances Enterprise Agentic AI Security with Agent Mission Control The recent OpenAI autonomous agent incident, in which an AI agent escaped its testing environment, hacked Hugging Face, and compromised additional third-party services, demonstrates how quickly autonomous systems can move beyond their intended boundaries.

Kitsapsun 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Exclusive: Upwind adds context scanning for AI agents as AI DR hits general availability

### Exclusive: Upwind adds context scanning for AI agents as AI DR hits general availability Cloud security startup [Upwind Security Inc.](https://www.upwind.io/) today unveiled AI Agent Context Scanner, which inspects the instructions, tools and connections feeding artificial intelligence agents before those agents act on them. Upwind is a venture capital-backed startup that raised $250 million [in January](https://siliconangle.com/2026/01/26/cloud-security-startup-upwind-raises-250m-funding-round/) in a round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, at a $1.5 billion valuation. # Are you AWS customer?  Support SiliconANGLE Financially by buying your AWS services from our Marketplace portal page and links. ##### LATEST STORIES [](https://siliconangle.com/2026/07/30/polyai-launches-new-real-time-voice-conversation-model-make-ai-driven-calls-human/) [](https://siliconangle.com/2026/07/30/polyai-launches-new-real-time-voice-conversation-model-make-ai-driven-calls-human/)

Siliconangle 3 weeks, 6 days ago

New details in the OpenAI Hugging Face hack show how far agents will go: 'It's now remarkably easy'

## Read more CNBC tech news Hugging Face said the breach marked the first time it had handled a cyber event that was “driven, end to end, by an [autonomous AI agent system](https://huggingface.co/blog/security-incident-july-2026).”

Cnbc 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Onyx Security Raises $113 Million to Control AI Agents in the Enterprise

The Series B funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Cyberstarts, TCV, Conviction, FirstMark, Vintage, QuantumLight, and G Squared. #### Related Content [](https://www.securityweek.com/databahn-raises-40-million-for-agentic-data-pipeline-management/) ### Cybersecurity Funding The company will accelerate investments in R&D and product innovation to expand its agentic data control plane. The company will invest in accelerating the development and adoption of its agentic platform.

Securityweek 3 weeks, 6 days ago

The AI Shift: How autonomous are AI agents?

# The AI Shift: How autonomous are AI agents? ## Latest on OpenAI - [OpenAI](https://www.ft.com/stream/e3402603-d253-4aa1-ac4d-fc9bdbf4ccb8) [OpenAI admits AI ‘agent’ caused major cyber breach by itself](https://www.ft.com/content/9db74b25-45ad-4187-b4d7-0e4d414fe41c?syn-25a6b1a6=1) [](https://www.ft.com/content/9db74b25-45ad-4187-b4d7-0e4d414fe41c?syn-25a6b1a6=1) - [Apple Inc](https://www.ft.com/apple-inc)

Ft 3 weeks, 6 days ago

OpenAI rogue AI agent’s attack expanded beyond Hugging Face

# OpenAI rogue AI agent’s attack expanded beyond Hugging Face The autonomous AI agent that [escaped](https://www.csoonline.com/article/4200043/openai-model-escape-puts-enterprise-ai-defenses-on-notice.html) during OpenAI testing exploited weaknesses across a customer workload, a third-party cloud platform, and Hugging Face’s production environment before being contained, according to new technical disclosures that provide the clearest picture yet of one of the first publicly documented AI-driven intrusion chains. ## Autonomous attack unfolded at machine speed Autonomous agents require additional safeguards such as task-specific permissions, runtime monitoring, approval workflows for sensitive actions, and policies that clearly define what an AI agent is permitted to access or execute.

Csoonline 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Delaware Proposes New Legal Framework for Autonomous Agents

# Delaware Proposes New Legal Framework for Autonomous Agents [Share on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/delaware-proposes-new-legal-framework-for-autonomous-agents/&t=Delaware+Proposes+New+Legal+Framework+for+Autonomous+Agents)[Tweet This Post](https://twitter.com/share?text=Delaware+Proposes+New+Legal+Framework+for+Autonomous+Agents%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20-&url=https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/delaware-proposes-new-legal-framework-for-autonomous-agents/)[Share on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/delaware-proposes-new-legal-framework-for-autonomous-agents/&title=Delaware+Proposes+New+Legal+Framework+for+Autonomous+Agents&summary=&source=)[Share via Email](mailto:?subject=Delaware%20Proposes%20New%20Legal%20Framework%20for%20Autonomous%20Agents&BODY=I%20found%20this%20article%20interesting%20and%20want%20to%20share%20it%20with%20you.%20Check%20it%20out:%20https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/delaware-proposes-new-legal-framework-for-autonomous-agents/) | Listen to ArticleListenPause Delaware is proposing a new type of corporate entity designed specifically for autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents, according to a Monday (July 27) Bloomberg [report](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/ai-run-company-gamble-tests-the-limits-of-delaware-corporate-law). ## Get the Full Story #### Featured News [Branch Wants Earned Wage Access to Be a Bridge, Not a Habit](https://www.pymnts.com/back-office/payroll/2026/branch-wants-earned-wage-access-to-be-a-bridge-not-a-habit/)

Pymnts 3 weeks, 6 days ago

How are AI models able to autonomously hack others?

## Recommended Stories ### [Nvidia unveils new chip to bring AI directly to personal computers](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/6/1/nvidia-unveils-new-chip-to-bring-ai-directly-to-personal-computers) This is likely the first incident of an AI “agent” – an AI system that can make decisions and take actions – acting autonomously, offering a rare glimpse into how these systems can plan, adapt and pursue goals with minimal human intervention.

Aljazeera 3 weeks, 6 days ago

OpenAI’s rogue AI agent shows why we need federal rules for autonomous systems

Ten autonomous [AI](https://cyberscoop.com/tag/artificial-intelligence-ai/) agents operated across five virtual environments for fifteen days without human intervention. An autonomous AI agent adapts around enforcement.

Cyberscoop 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Encore AI funding backs revenue agents

[Encore AI](https://www.gainencore.ai/) has raised new Series A funding and rebranded from Insait IO, positioning itself as a revenue-focused alternative to AI agents built mainly for support deflection. ## **What marketers should test before trusting revenue agents** Encore AI's funding is a useful signal that investors and enterprise buyers are still looking for AI that does more than reduce support cost. ## **Meta title** - Encore AI funding backs revenue agents

Contentgrip 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Freehand raises $75M as Meta and Unilever hand their supply chains to AI agents

# Freehand raises $75M as Meta and Unilever hand their supply chains to AI agents - Freehand has raised $75 million in funding co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners, with backing from PSP Growth, chaired by former US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, and Nexus Venture Partners. - Its AI agents already manage supply-chain operations for Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Dunkin’ and Cardinal Health. - Customers have reported recovering 5–10% of supply-chain spend, completing workflows 5–7x faster, and reducing procure-to-pay cycles by more than 70%. [Freehand](https://www.freehand.ai/) has raised $75 million to expand its AI agents that manage supply-chain spend for Fortune 500 companies, with the round co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners. PSP Growth, the investment firm chaired by former US Commerce Secretary [Penny Pritzker](https://www.linkedin.com/in/penny-pritzker), and [Nexus Venture Partners](https://techfundingnews.com/indias-nexus-venture-to-raise-700m-to-bet-on-native-and-us-tech-startups/) also joined the round. The funding lands as Freehand’s agents are already live inside Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Dunkin’ and Cardinal Health, taking over work long handled by legacy software and outsourced labour. ## The market opportunity and what’s next - [AI](https://techfundingnews.com/tag/ai/) - [funding](https://techfundingnews.com/tag/funding/) - [news](https://techfundingnews.com/tag/news/) ##### Related Posts - [Funding News](https://techfundingnews.com/category/funding/) - [Latest News](https://techfundingnews.com/category/latest-news/) - [UK Tech News](https://techfundingnews.com/category/uk/) ## [Web3 gaming startup Nefta scores fast funding of $1M within one year of existence](https://techfundingnews.com/web3-gaming-startup-nefta-scores-fast-funding-of-1m-within-one-year-of-existence/) - [Funding News](https://techfundingnews.com/category/funding/) - [US Tech News](https://techfundingnews.co

Techfundingnews 3 weeks, 6 days ago

AI security startup Onyx raises $113 million Series B at $640 million valuation

# AI security startup Onyx raises $113 million Series B at $640 million valuation ## Just four months after emerging from stealth, the Israeli startup is betting that securing AI agents will become one of cybersecurity's biggest markets. [Meir Orbach](https://www.calcalistech.com/tags/Meir_Orbach) 00:00, 30.07.26  Askmeanyquestion Click to listen [Powered bywhtvr.ai](https://www.whtvr.ai/?utm_source=watermark&utm_campaign=google.com) The latest financing values the company at an estimated $640 million, representing a several-fold increase from its previous valuation. [Full list of Israeli high-tech funding rounds in 2026](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rq8lzbs4c) Onyx develops a platform that enables enterprises to deploy AI agents securely and at scale by managing permissions, monitoring agent activity, and preventing risks associated with autonomous AI systems. The new funding will be used to accelerate development of the company's next-generation AI models and expand its sales, business development, and marketing operations in the United States and other international markets. 1 View gallery  Onyx Security founders. (Netanel Tobias) Founded in 2024 by Maxim Bar Kogan, a veteran of Unit 8200 and former Vice President of Product and Engineering at Mixtiles, and Gil Elbaz, an AI entrepreneur who previously served in the Israeli Air Force's Operational Technology Unit, Onyx now employs more than 80 people across Israel, the United States, and Canada. The company already works with several Fortune 500 customers. In June, Anthropic announced that it had integrated Onyx's technolo

Calcalistech 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Rogue OpenAI agent that hacked startup tried to attack other firms

# Rogue OpenAI agent that hacked startup tried to attack other firms #### SecureDrop - [OpenAI](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/openai) - [AI (artificial intelligence)](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/artificialintelligenceai) - [Technology sector](https://www.theguardian.com/business/technology) - [ChatGPT](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/chatgpt) - [news](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) ## More on this story  ### OpenAI ‘in early talks to give 5% stake to US government’  ### OpenAI staggers AI model release after Trump administration request  ### Anthropic surges as OpenAI struggles to keep up 

Theguardian 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Encore AI raises $30M to build AI agents that learn from customer calls

# Encore AI raises $30M to build AI agents that learn from customer calls [Ram Iyer](https://techcrunch.com/author/ram-iyer/) 7:41 AM PDT · July 29, 2026 [Share on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2026%2F07%2F29%2Fencore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls%2F)[Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2026%2F07%2F29%2Fencore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls%2F&text=Encore+AI+raises+%2430M+to+build+AI+agents+that+learn+from+customer+calls&via=techcrunch)[Share on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2026%2F07%2F29%2Fencore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls%2F&title=Encore+AI+raises+%2430M+to+build+AI+agents+that+learn+from+customer+calls&summary=The+startup+analyzes+calls%2C+messages%2C+and+CRM+data+to+identify+effective+sales+techniques+and+turn+them+into+playbooks+for+AI+agents.&mini=1&source=TechCrunch)[Share on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2026%2F07%2F29%2Fencore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls%2F&title=Encore+AI+raises+%2430M+to+build+AI+agents+that+learn+from+customer+calls)[Share over Email](mailto:?subject=Encore+AI+raises+%2430M+to+build+AI+agents+that+learn+from+customer+calls&body=Article%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2026%2F07%2F29%2Fencore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls%2F)[Copy Share Link](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/29/encore-ai-raises-30m-to-build-ai-agents-that-learn-from-customer-calls/) [Encore AI](https://www.gainencore.ai/), a startup that studies companies’ customer interactions to train and deploy AI voice agents that can work alongside customer support and sales teams, or operate autonomously, has raised $30 million in a Series A round led by Team8. Founded in 2022 as Insait IO by CEO Dvir Ginzburg, the company

Techcrunch 3 weeks, 6 days ago

Mark Zuckerberg predicts that billions of people will have personal AI agents in five years

# Mark Zuckerberg predicts that billions of people will have personal AI agents in five years  Google emphasized [custom AI agents](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/how-to-use-googles-new-ai-agents-to-go-beyond-your-standard-searches/) as a key new feature in its [Search overhaul](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/google-search-as-you-know-it-is-over/), which sparked outcry from users who felt bogged down by the constant onslaught of AI results on Google. Meanwhile, subscriptions to Anthropic's Claude have [skyrocketed](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/28/anthropics-claude-popularity-with-paying-consumers-is-skyrocketing/) as engineers fawn over the agentic coding assistant Claude Code. Meta's Reality Labs, the organization responsible for its AR glasses, VR headsets, and related software, lost around [$4.6 billion](https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2026/Meta-Reports-Second-Quarter-2026-Results/default.aspx) this quarter, roughly in line with the losses the division has posted [each quarter](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/29/meta-is-still-burning-money-on-ar-vr/) since 2021. This week, Meta and BlackRock announced a partnership to build a [$14 billion data center](http://reuters.com/technology/meta-blackrock-partner-14-billion-el-paso-data-center-2026-07-28/) in El Paso, Texas. So far, Meta's business agents, rolled out globally on WhatsApp and Messenger this quarter, have been adopted by more than one million businesses.

Finance 3 weeks, 6 days ago