Observed Signal · Jun 15, 2026 · Funding · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
NewCore Raises $66M to Authenticate AI Agents
NewCore, a cybersecurity startup, emerged from stealth on June 15, 2026 with $66 million in seed funding to build an identity platform designed to authenticate, govern, and control AI agents at enterprise scale. The round was led by Cyberstarts with participation from Index Ventures and Evolution Equity Partners, valuing NewCore at $300 million post-money. Co-founded by CEO Zohar Alon, CTO Amihai Neiderman and CRO Erez Yarkoni, the company says its platform manages human and AI-agent identities in one system, offering features such as a split-key architecture and an "Agentic Skill" integration for coding assistants (Anthropic’s Claude Code, OpenAI’s Codex, Cursor). NewCore has over 50 employees, fewer than 10 customers, more than 10 design partners, and expects to begin charging customers in summer 2026.
Significant seed funding for a startup focused on identity and governance for AI agents highlights an emerging enterprise security need; may influence identity vendors and enterprise AI governance but is not immediately industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- NewCore emerged from stealth with $66 million in seed funding on 2026-06-15.
- Seed round led by Cyberstarts with participation from Index Ventures and Evolution Equity Partners; post-money valuation $300 million.
- NewCore’s platform manages both human and AI-agent identities, with features including a split-key architecture and Agentic Skill integrations.
- Agentic Skill integrations enable coding assistants (Anthropic’s Claude Code, OpenAI’s Codex, Cursor) to access enterprise systems as managed identities.
- Company has grown to more than 50 employees, is used by fewer than 10 customers and more than 10 design partners, and expects to begin charging customers in summer 2026.
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VCs Back AI‑Native Cybersecurity Startups
Venture investors are increasingly funding AI-native cybersecurity startups addressing new risks introduced by agentic AI. Startups are using AI agents for continuous penetration testing, vulnerability discovery, governance, and agent identity verification. Reported financings include Xbow (Sequoia-backed) in talks for a round valuing it just over $1 billion, Cylake (founded by Nir Zuk) raising a $45M seed led by Greylock, and Cogent Security raising a $42M Series A led by Bain Capital Ventures. Investors cited identity verification for autonomous agents and scaled automated attacks as key market opportunities. Anthropic’s launch of Claude Code Security—an autonomous code-scanning tool—briefly pressured cybersecurity incumbents’ stocks (CrowdStrike, Zscaler), highlighting both disruption risk and investor interest in next‑generation security firms. Industry observers expect winners to emerge over several years as enterprise AI infrastructure matures.
Oak raises $60M to fix AI-era identity management
Israeli startup Oak has emerged from stealth with a generally available identity product after raising $60 million in seed funding. Co-founded by Shai Morag and Tal Marom, Oak offers a unified control plane and an "AI connector framework" that maps access to actual app usage and removes unneeded permissions in real time. The company says its solution is already deployed by enterprise clients, built a 50-person team while in stealth, and is hiring—especially in the U.S. The $60M round was co-led by Accel, CRV and Greylock Partners, with participation from AlphaDrive Ventures, Hetz Ventures and angel investors. Oak positions itself as an AI-native replacement for legacy IAM tools amid growing concerns that AI agents increase identity and access risks.
AIR raises $50M to vet AI agent skills and add-ons
AI security startup AIR emerged from stealth with $50 million in seed funding across two rounds. The company offers a platform that discovers AI agents running inside enterprises, continuously vets the skills, plug-ins, and MCP servers they use, and blocks those that fail security criteria. The first round of $10 million was led by Sequoia, the second of $40 million by Greenoaks, with participation from Swish, Netz, and several angel investors. AIR claims over 20 customers, including large enterprises in regulated industries like financial services and pharmaceuticals. The funding will be used for hiring researchers and expanding go-to-market efforts in the U.S. and Europe.
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