From teen hacker to Iron Dome researcher, this founder raised $28M to fight AI phishing

Shay Shwartz has a deep understanding of email phishing threats, rooted in his early years as a hacker. After being caught at 16, he pivoted his skills towards cybersecurity, ultimately spending nearly a decade in high-profile roles within Israel's defense and intelligence sectors, contributing to critical projects such as the Iron Dome. Two years ago, Shwartz took a bold step to create his own venture, Ocean, a cutting-edge email security platform designed to counteract AI-driven phishing schemes. Recently, Ocean emerged from its stealth phase, securing a significant $28 million in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with contributions from Picture Capital and Cerca Partners. Notable angel investors, including Assaf Rappaport, co-founder of Wiz, and Yevgeny Dibrov and Nadir Izrael, co-founders of Armis, also participated in this funding round. While traditional cybersecurity firms like Proofpoint and Mimecast tackle standard phishing threats, Shwartz emphasizes that the rise of AI necessitates a new defensive strategy. In the past, executing spear-phishing attacks required considerable effort and skill. Now, with AI, this process is automated, allowing for a far broader range of attacks. "AI has expanded the scale of phishing operations dramatically," Shwartz explained. "I can direct an LLM to gather extensive public information about someone and create highly targeted phishing attempts against them." Ocean's innovative technology claims to effectively analyze the context of incoming emails, identifying fraudulent and impersonation attempts. The startup is already processing billions of emails monthly for clients such as Kayak, Kingston Technology, and Headspace. Shwartz describes Ocean's small language model as a vital tool for swiftly evaluating emails, discerning the sender's intent, and contextualizing it within the specific organizational framework of its users. "This is akin to having a guard at every entrance," Shwartz remarked. "Our goal is to enhance inbox safety and ensure a high level of hygiene for email communications."