UK startup Asymmetric bags $4.2M to shrink cyber investigations from days to hours

Cybersecurity Funding Update

January 23, 2026

Cyberattacks are growing increasingly complex and elusive. Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks represent a significant portion of global cyber incidents, resulting in over $55 billion in losses across the past decade.

As artificial intelligence accelerates the replication of human behavior, these attacks now unfold faster, at lower costs, and with greater anonymity. Many organizations still rely on sluggish, manual investigation processes, which often stretch into days or weeks. By the time threats are identified, irreversible damage may already be done.

To address this gap, Asymmetric Security has emerged with a solution that integrates cutting-edge AI models with human-led forensic expertise. Its platform automates investigative workflows, reducing response times from days to hours.

To support its mission of streamlining cyberattack investigations, the London- and San Francisco-based company recently secured $4.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. The investment was spearheaded by Susa Ventures, with contributions from Halcyon Ventures, Overlook Ventures, and prominent angels like Meta’s Charlie Songhurst, Entrepreneur First co-founder Matt Clifford, and former Y Combinator president Geoff Ralston.

Prioritizing Defense in the AI Era

Founded by Zainab Ali Majid, Pippa Thompson, and Alexis Carlier, Asymmetric leverages secure AI automation and elite forensic capabilities to proactively identify threats and respond to security incidents.

“AI’s rapid evolution toward artificial general intelligence amplifies security risks. Autonomous AI attacks are now a reality, and model theft poses critical threats. Our focus is empowering defenders through AI-driven solutions,” explains co-founder Alexis Carlier.

The company trains its defensive AI systems on real-world attack data, aiming to give security teams an edge as threats grow more sophisticated. To date, its platform has optimized responses to over 100 attacks, enhancing speed, precision, and cost-efficiency through rapid log analysis, AI-powered investigations, expert validation, and actionable mitigation strategies.

Future Expansion Plans

The fresh capital will fuel engineering talent acquisition and expansion of the incident response team. Over the coming year, Asymmetric intends to broaden its scope to combat insider threats, ransomware, and advanced nation-state attacks.

“Asymmetric uniquely combines incident response mastery with AI innovation. Their services not only excel in cybersecurity but also create a strategic pathway into the broader enterprise security landscape,” said Chad Byers, co-founder and general partner at Susa Ventures.