TLDR: Austin-based Polygraf AI has successfully closed a $9.5 million seed funding round, led by Allegis Capital, to scale its enterprise AI security solutions. The company leverages proprietary Small Language Models (SLMs) deployed on-premise to combat AI-driven threats such as data leakage, deepfakes, and compliance issues, aiming to bring clarity and trust to AI adoption in critical sectors.
Austin, Texas – Polygraf AI, a pioneering force in enterprise AI security, announced today the successful closure of a $9.5 million seed funding round. This significant investment is earmarked to accelerate product development, expand enterprise sales, and bolster research and development efforts, particularly targeting the enterprise, defense, and intelligence sectors.
The funding round was spearheaded by Allegis Capital, a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm renowned for its focus on cybersecurity and emerging technologies. Additional participation came from a consortium of investors including Alumni Ventures, DataPower VC, Domino Ventures, and existing investors, underscoring strong confidence in Polygraf AI’s innovative approach to AI security.
Polygraf AI distinguishes itself by developing proprietary Small Language Models (SLMs) designed for on-premise deployment. This architecture is crucial for organizations seeking to mitigate the inherent risks associated with large, cloud-trained AI models. The company’s platform is engineered to detect and prevent a spectrum of AI-driven threats, including sensitive data leakage, fraudulent deepfakes, and other forms of synthetic content. It also plays a vital role in ensuring compliance with stringent regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, and addressing challenges posed by ‘shadow AI’ operations.
Specifically, Polygraf AI’s solutions can identify instances where personal or confidential information is inadvertently exposed by employees interacting with AI models. The technology can scan files and folders for data at risk due to AI content management tools, redact sensitive information in documents, and authenticate prompts and calls through a provenance layer to counter deepfake fraud.
Yagub Rahimov, co-founder and CEO of Polygraf AI, emphasized the critical need for their technology, stating, “The world is realizing that large, cloud-trained models come with large, unpredictable risks. At Polygraf, we are on a mission to eliminate those risks. We’re proving that you can have both intelligence and integrity—a private AI for sensitive missions that is small, local, explainable, and trustworthy. This funding enables us to double down on our vision to protect the world’s most critical operations, where failure simply isn’t an option.”
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Co-founded by Rahimov and Vignesh Karumbaya (COO), Polygraf AI’s mission is to instill clarity and trust in enterprise AI deployments. The company’s innovative work has garnered significant recognition, including being named one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity Startups to watch in 2025 by TechCrunch as part of its Startup Battlefield 200, and securing the #1 Tech Company spot at the Road to TechCrunch Battlefield 200 regional finals. The funding announcement itself was made at the prestigious TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco, highlighting Polygraf AI’s growing prominence in the cybersecurity landscape.
