Exein Raises €234M to Secure the Physical World Against AI-Powered Cyberattacks

Italian cybersecurity company Exein has raised approximately €234 million ($270 million) in a major funding round led by Headline, giving the company a valuation of around $1.7 billion. The investment comes as AI-powered attacks increasingly target connected devices, robots, drones and other systems that interact with the physical world.

Building Security Into Physical AI

Founded in 2018 by Gianni Cuozzo, Exein is headquartered in Rome and operates across the US, Germany and Taiwan. The company focuses on protecting connected and intelligent devices by embedding cybersecurity directly into their firmware and runtime environments.

Its technology is designed to detect, prevent and respond to threats from within the device rather than relying solely on traditional network-level security. Exein currently says its technology protects more than 1.5 billion devices daily across sectors including industrial, automotive and aerospace.

Why Physical AI Is Becoming a Security Challenge

The rise of Physical AI is changing the cybersecurity landscape. Cameras, robots, drones, industrial systems and other connected machines are increasingly capable of making decisions and acting autonomously.

That creates a different kind of risk. A compromised AI-powered machine could potentially cause physical disruption rather than simply exposing digital information.

Exein says attackers are increasingly using AI to scale and automate attacks, making conventional patching and detection-based approaches less effective. Its platform instead focuses on continuous runtime protection that can operate directly on the device.

From Embedded Security to AI Protection

Exein's platform provides runtime security across firmware, AI agents, cloud workloads, Linux environments and Kubernetes. Its approach is designed to identify malicious behaviour and contain threats while systems are running, including environments where continuous connectivity may not be available.

The company is also developing dedicated security technology for Physical AI, with the goal of protecting systems that can perceive their surroundings, make decisions and take action.

Major Funding for Global Expansion

The latest investment follows Exein's €70 million Series C in 2025 and a further €100 million funding round later that year, bringing substantial capital into its global expansion. The company has reported rapid growth, including a 450% year-over-year increase and expanding partnerships with major manufacturers and semiconductor companies.

With its latest funding, Exein plans to expand its workforce, accelerate product development and strengthen its presence in international markets.

As billions of connected devices become increasingly autonomous, Exein is positioning itself as a cybersecurity layer for the physical AI era—protecting machines at the point where software decisions become real-world actions.