AI security startup Outtake raises $40M from Satya Nadella, Bill Ackman and tech leaders

AI Security Startup Secures Major Backing from Tech Industry Leaders

Outtake, an AI security startup founded in 2023 by former Palantir engineer Alex Dhillon, has closed a $40 million funding round that brings together some of the tech industry's most influential figures. The Series B round was led by ICONIQ's Murali Joshi, who previously steered investments in Anthropic, Datadog, and 1Password 1

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. The impressive roster of angel investors includes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Pershing Square Holdings CEO Bill Ackman, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens, former OpenAI VP Bob McGrew, and Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch 1

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. Additional participation came from CRV and S32 2

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Automating Defense Against Digital Identity Fraud

The cybersecurity startup Outtake has developed an agentic cybersecurity platform that addresses a critical challenge: detecting and eliminating impersonation accounts, malicious domains, rogue apps, and fraudulent ads that pose as legitimate enterprises. This problem has intensified as AI enables attackers to operate with greater speed and sophistication 1

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The 35-person company uses autonomous artificial intelligence agents to automate what has traditionally been a manual, human-intensive process of spotting and removing digital identity posers 2

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. According to Alex Dhillon, "We're headed towards this world of always-on security. You need agent tech solutions like Outtake, defending your neighborhood" 2

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Strong Growth Metrics Signal Market Demand

Outtake has demonstrated significant traction since its founding, with annual recurring revenue increasing sixfold year-over-year and its enterprise customer base growing more than tenfold 1

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. The company's systems scanned 20 million potential cyberattacks last year alone, underscoring the scale of the threat landscape 2

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. Its customer roster includes OpenAI, Pershing Square, AppLovin, and federal agencies 1

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. OpenAI even profiled the company in July 2025 as an example of an agentic startup built on its reasoning models 1

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Why Investors See This as a Turning Point for Brand Safety

Murali Joshi from Iconiq explained the initial skepticism that surrounded Outtake before due diligence revealed its potential. "We kept hearing whispers in our network about an AI company that was finally solving digital misrepresentation at scale. Honestly, we were skeptical," Joshi told TechCrunch. "Historically, detection and takedown was (and to some extent even today) a manual, human-intensive process that couldn't keep up with the speed of the internet" 1

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. After examining the product and speaking with customers, however, the firm became convinced. "They've turned a 'human problem' into a 'software problem.' Seeing AI take down digital frauds in real-time is a game-changer for brand safety," Joshi said 1

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Building a Trust Layer for an AI-Accelerated Threat Environment

Dhillon emphasized that AI has fundamentally altered the cyberthreats landscape, raising both the sophistication and pace of attacks. The company is building what he describes as a "trust layer for the Internet" 2

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. This approach matters because enterprises face an escalating challenge: as AI tools become more accessible, bad actors can launch more convincing phishing campaigns and create fraudulent digital presences faster than traditional security teams can respond. The platform's ability to detect and remove threats autonomously through artificial intelligence agents represents a shift from reactive to proactive defense, addressing the speed mismatch between attackers and defenders. With Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar among the angel investors, the funding round signals confidence from security veterans that agentic AI represents the next evolution in protecting digital identities and maintaining brand safety across the internet.