Italian cybersecurity start-up company Exein has raised $270 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation to $1.7 billion as the company expands its security technology for robots, drones, autonomous vehicles and other AI-powered machines.
The funding makes Exein the latest technology company to join the unicorn club, following a sharp increase in its valuation from $55 million two years ago.
The round was led by US investment firm Headline, with participation from Sofina, Goldman Sachs, the European Investment Bank, KfW Capital and T.Capital, alongside existing investors including Balderton, HV, Lakestar, Supernova Invest and Geodesic Capital.
Exein said the funding would support its expansion in the United States and Asia-Pacific, while strengthening its technology for securing physical artificial intelligence systems.
The company focuses on cybersecurity for machines that use AI to perceive their surroundings, make decisions and operate in the physical world.
Exein said its technology is designed to protect devices including robots, autonomous vehicles, drones, medical devices and industrial machines from cyberattacks.
The company has developed Photon, a security technology that blocks malicious attacks at the kernel level before they can cause damage.
It is also developing a proprietary AI foundation model trained on telemetry from more than two billion devices. The company plans to launch its new security architecture by the end of 2026, with its first foundation models expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Exein said it currently detects about 5,000 new attacks each week, five times the level recorded a year ago.
The company said its revenue in the first half of 2026 was almost twice its total revenue for 2025, while it expects full-year revenue growth to be four times higher than the previous financial year.
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Gianni Cuozzo, founder and CEO of Exein, said the shift of AI from cloud-based systems into physical machines was creating new cybersecurity risks.
He said Exein was developing security systems capable of responding to threats at the same speed as the machines they protect.
The latest funding round also follows Exein’s expansion into Asia-Pacific. The company established its regional headquarters in Taiwan after its previous funding round in December 2025 and has since entered partnerships in the semiconductor, industrial computing and connected infrastructure sectors.
Exein said it plans to increase its workforce, customer base and partnerships in the US over the next two years, including opening a new office in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The company also plans to pursue acquisitions to expand its technology platform and international presence.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
