Pillar Security, an AI cybersecurity startup specializing in comprehensive AI application security, has exited stealth mode with a $9 million seed funding round. The investment, aimed at closing a critical security gap in the enterprise AI landscape, was led by Shield Capital with participation from Golden Ventures, Ground Up Ventures, and several strategic angel investors.
Founded in October 2023 by Dor Sarig and Ziv Karliner, Pillar is positioning itself as the core security infrastructure for AI-native applications—particularly those involving autonomous, decision-making agents and interactive systems.
“AI is fundamentally changing the way we build software — it doesn’t just add another step to traditional processes; it introduces an entirely new lifecycle.” said Dor Sarig, CEO & Co-Founder at Pillar Security. “In the intelligence age, data is executable and software has agency. Pillar’s technology, backed by real-world AI threat intelligence, is built with this understanding, delivering a new class of protection designed explicitly for AI-related security risks. We are redefining application security to match the agentic and autonomous software of the Intelligence Age.”
Pillar takes a holistic approach by treating AI systems as dynamic, high-risk assets. It maps every layer of the AI stack—from training data and prompts to the underlying runtime infrastructure. Using this foundation, the platform conducts red-team simulations, implements adaptive guardrails, and continuously monitors live threat data to assess operational risks in real time. According to the company, this enables it to detect and block AI-specific attacks with a level of precision that traditional security tools lack.
As enterprises increasingly integrate AI into core operations, the need for specialized security solutions has never been greater. With its end-to-end platform and a fresh injection of capital, Pillar Security is positioning itself at the forefront of AI-native cybersecurity—aiming to become a critical layer of defense in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
