Cybersecurity startup Humanix Security Inc. announced today that it has raised $18 million in new funding to accelerate the development and expansion of its artificial intelligence platform that detects and stops social engineering attacks.

Humanix focuses on defending what it calls the human layer of organizations — the people, help desks, service desks and customer-facing channels that attackers often exploit via social engineering.

The company’s platform takes on the threat through the use of AI-powered natural-language analysis combined with behavioral-science insights. The platform monitors live conversations, including phone, chat and service tickets and runs detection models in real time to identify manipulation tactics, urgent impersonation, policy violations or other signs of social engineering.

If and when a social engineering attack is detected, Humanix’s platform offers real-time intervention guidance to the employee interacting with the customer or requester. The idea is to turn the employee from a potential vulnerability into a secure part of the system, guiding responses and flagging when procedures may have been circumvented.

Humanix also provides assurance and documentation by tracking that the correct processes were followed, that the employee response was appropriate and that the organization has evidence of oversight and compliance. The oversight helps reduce liability, protect customer trust and reduce operational friction without compromising security.

“Turns out the easiest way to hack a company is just to say ‘please,’” said founder and Chief Executive Keith Stewart. “Criminals call the help desk, pretend to be an employee in a hurry and walk away with passwords or keys to sensitive data. It’s low-tech but highly effective — and AI is making it even more convincing.”

By focusing on the human layer, which Humanix argues many traditional cybersecurity tools overlook, the company is positioning itself in a rapidly growing market as social engineering attacks surge from AI. Losses from human-facing breaches are high and growing, with help desk breaches alone exceeding $100 million annually and training and scripts are no longer cutting it as a prevention strategy.

The funding came in two tranches — a seed round led by BoldStart Ventures and a Series A round led by Acrew Capital Management.

“We invested in Humanix because people are the last frontier in cybersecurity,” said Asad Khaliq from Acrew Capital. “Their platform gives companies instant visibility and control over the attacks that actually happen, not just the ones they train for.”

Image: Humanix