Repello AI, the Silicon Valley–based startup with operations in Bengaluru, has secured $1.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Venture Highway (now part of General Catalyst), with participation from pi Ventures, Entrepreneur First, and notable angel investors including Meta board member Charles Songhurst and Vivek Raghavan, CEO of Sarvam.ai. With this new capital, Repello AI is rapidly scaling its security platform to protect enterprises from the fast-evolving threats posed by generative AI systems.

Why GenAI Needs a New Kind of Defense

Generative AI tools - from chatbots to code assistants to image creators - introduce an entirely new attack surface. These systems are vulnerable to prompt injections, data leakage, model manipulation, and jailbreak exploits that traditional security frameworks simply can’t handle. Repello AI steps into this critical gap with a purpose-built architecture that defends AI-native environments rather than retrofitting old security models.

Dual-Engine Protection: ARTEMIS and Repello Guard

At the heart of Repello’s platform lie two core pillars. ARTEMIS, an automated red-teaming engine, constantly tests AI systems for weaknesses across text, image, and audio modalities. It identifies vulnerabilities like prompt injections and data exfiltration attempts, and offers actionable fixes before they’re exploited in the wild. Meanwhile, Repello Guard serves as a runtime defense layer, filtering malicious or harmful prompts and responses in real time, preventing sensitive data leaks and brand-damaging failures.

Together, these products provide a comprehensive, proactive security approach that extends across pre-deployment and live environments - a crucial capability for enterprises hoping to safely harness the power of AI.

Securing Early Adopters and Scaling Globally

Repello AI is already working with high-profile customers including Groww and PhysicsWallah, and is piloting its solutions in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. This early traction validates the critical demand for real-time AI security, especially as generative AI becomes deeply embedded in enterprise workflows.

In these pilot programs, Repello’s technology has not only blocked attacks but also improved overall system reliability, helping teams deploy new features faster without compromising safety or compliance.

Now, here’s a piece of insight that might redefine how founders think about security and growth: the best security approach is not just a technical moat but also a market differentiator and a growth catalyst. Many startups treat security as an operational necessity, tacked on late in the product lifecycle. Repello flips this script by integrating security as a core design principle from day one. This means customers don’t see security as a checkbox - they experience it as a built-in promise that unlocks faster adoption and deeper trust. When your users know that safety isn’t optional but fundamental, it changes everything: you shorten enterprise sales cycles, reduce risk objections, and even open up regulated markets that would otherwise stay off-limits. By weaving security into their DNA, Repello isn’t just protecting systems - it’s accelerating business growth.

Founding Team: A Deep Security Mindset

Repello AI was co-founded in 2024 by Aryaman Behera (CEO) and Naman Mishra (CTO), both graduates of IIT Roorkee with deep experience in AI security, infrastructure, and software product development. Aryaman and Naman saw firsthand how quickly generative AI models were advancing - and how little thought was being given to their defense. Aryaman recalls, “We realized most AI deployments were using outdated security playbooks, leaving them wide open to new classes of attacks. Repello was built to change that from the inside out.”

Capital Deployment and Roadmap Ahead

The $1.2 million seed funding will accelerate product development, grow the engineering and threat intelligence teams, and expand go-to-market efforts. Repello also plans to deepen its protection layers for emerging AI modalities, including autonomous agents and multi-step reasoning systems, which are even more vulnerable to sophisticated prompt attacks.

Looking ahead, the company is targeting highly regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where security is not just a feature but a core requirement for survival.

The Bigger Picture: Security as Critical Infrastructure for AI

This funding round is not just a boost for Repello; it represents a broader industry wake-up call. As generative AI scales, the threat landscape evolves rapidly, and traditional security solutions simply can’t keep up. Repello’s integrated, proactive approach positions it as a new standard bearer in AI safety.

By embedding security into the architecture from day one, Repello AI helps enterprises shift from reactive patching to proactive resilience - a transition that will define market leaders in this new era of intelligent systems. The $1.2 million round signals strong investor belief that the future of AI belongs to companies that treat security not as an afterthought, but as a strategic foundation for trust and growth.