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| Demand spikes for AI-native cybersecurity as threats outpace legacy defenses |
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By Dimitri Zabelin, Senior AI and Cybersecurity Research Analyst
AI has pushed cybersecurity into a new phase of investment, with a record 50.5% of all cybersecurity venture deals in 2025 going to AI-focused startups, according to a new PitchBook analyst note.
The shift reflects a widening gap between the speed of AI-enabled attacks and the limits of existing security tools, forcing enterprises to adopt platforms that can detect and respond at machine speed.
The data emphasizes a structural inflection point for the sector. AI-focused cybersecurity companies are not only attracting more deals but also commanding consistently larger checks. Median deal sizes exceeded those of non-AI peers at every funding stage by about 14%, with especially wide gaps before capital intensity typically moderates in later-stage and pre-exit rounds. |
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Necessity has overtaken experimentation as the primary investment driver.
Attackers are increasingly using agentic AI systems, polymorphic malware and AI-generated social engineering to automate reconnaissance, adapt intrusions in real time and persist after remediation. These techniques compress the available time to respond and undermine more traditional defense approaches. As a result, demand is concentrating around AI-native tools that learn what normal activity looks like across systems and users, then automatically flag and respond when something deviates.
Returns from AI-focused cybersecurity startups have followed a similar pattern, with higher multiples on invested capital and slightly faster fundraising cycles, signaling stronger conviction in long-term outcomes rather than short-term hype.
Public-sector spending and geopolitics are reinforcing the trend. Governments across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific are expanding cybersecurity budgets and directing funding toward AI-based detection, autonomous response and safeguards to protect AI models. As state-linked activity increasingly targets private-sector infrastructure, enterprises are becoming the frontline buyers of advanced security platforms.
Looking ahead, there’s growing momentum in large language model-level security, application security and autonomous threat response as AI becomes embedded in core enterprise workflows.
For investors and startups alike, the takeaway is clear: It’s AI-native platforms built for a permanently accelerated threat environment rather than incremental tools that are shaping cybersecurity’s next growth cycle. |
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| Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: |
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180
Deals
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782
People
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415
Companies
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12
Funds
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| The Daily Benchmark: 2016 Vintage Global Debt Funds |
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