Funds surpassing $4.3 million accumulated for counteracting cybersecurity threats posing dangers to humans
Maro, an innovative AI-powered cognitive security platform, has secured $4.3 million in seed funding from Downing Capital Group. This investment will be used for team expansion, product development, and the company's launch strategy.
Maro is designed to help security leaders proactively manage human risk in cybersecurity, including social engineering, insider threats, and AI misuse. The platform empowers security teams to manage human risk dynamically and contextually, preventing security breaches caused by user behavior through AI-driven detection, policy enforcement, and behavior guidance early in the risk chain.
One of the key features of Maro is its ability to integrate governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) into real-time behavioral controls. This transformation turns static rules into actionable behavioral policies embedded in users’ workflows, providing a more effective approach to cybersecurity.
Maro also prevents data loss to AI chatbots and stops the exposure of sensitive data without disrupting productivity or innovation. It intercepts real-time deception attacks such as clickjacking and typosquatting using browser-level protection. Moreover, it detects and mitigates advanced social engineering and AI-powered threats, including adversary-in-the-browser attacks, at the moment they occur.
The platform guides employees during AI tool usage via smart, well-timed notifications, reducing human errors related to AI data handling and policy violations in real time. It helps security leaders combat human errors and AI-exacerbated threats, including social engineering and insider risks.
Jesse Downing, CEO at Downing Capital Group, emphasizes Maro's ability to protect how people think, decide, and act. He believes that Maro's technology provides real-time visibility into workforce behaviors and reinforces secure actions in daily workflows.
Maro's founding team, led by Jadon Montero, Gwen Betts, and Jen Andre, has over 40 years of combined experience in building security companies, drawing expertise from firms such as Rapid7 and Symantec. The team was inspired to create Maro to address the issue of users running afoul of company policy without even knowing it, especially in the context of the acceleration of AI, remote work, and shadow SaaS.
The platform is designed to protect individuals from taking risky actions when stress levels are high and under attack. It aims to implement GRC in real-time, managing and mitigating human risk before issues reach the Security Operations Center (SOC).
Jadon Montero, a founder of Maro, has worked with several companies that have had successful exits. The team's extensive cybersecurity experience in solving human-focused problems, having worked together across three companies, has been instrumental in the development of Maro.
In conclusion, Maro's AI-powered platform is set to revolutionize the cybersecurity landscape by focusing on managing human risk in the context of the acceleration of AI, remote work, and shadow SaaS. It offers a proactive approach to cybersecurity, empowering security teams to prevent security breaches caused by user behavior rather than simply reacting to them.
The AI-powered cognitive security platform, Maro, leverages technology to focus on cybersecurity, addressing the proactive management of human risk in a context of the acceleration of AI, remote work, and shadow SaaS. To achieve this, Maro uses technology to integrate governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) into real-time behavioral controls, making static rules actionable in daily workflows.
