New Delhi, 13th March 2025: Neural Defend, an AI-driven cybersecurity startup, has raised over $600K in a Pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The round also saw participation from MIT SBXI (Boston-based), Techstars San Francisco, and Soonicorn Ventures. The capital will be used to enhance its agentic AI capabilities for real-time, multimodal deepfake detection, further advancing its R&D efforts and product development.
Founded in 2024, Neural Defend specializes in deepfake detection and cybersecurity innovation. With pilot projects already underway in New York and Singapore, the company is addressing the growing risks posed by AI-generated digital deception. The startup is poised to redefine identity protection and fraud prevention on a global scale.
The company is led by Piyush Verma (CEO), Sivashankar Selvarajan (CTO), and Sumit Singh (Chief Data Officer). Piyush Verma, a two-time founder and former researcher at MIT, Harvard, IBM R&D has built impact-driven ventures with Fortune 500 Clients in the past. Sivashankar Selvarajan, an IIT, IIM graduate and seasoned AI and cybersecurity expert, holds two patents in Face Anti-Spoof Detection and has won the Intel Edge AI Award. Sumit Singh has managed data pipelines worth over $200 billion, while working with major clients like INVESCO through Publicis Sapient. Neural Defend has also been selected into the prestigious Techstars accelerator in San Francisco.
Vikram Ramasubramanian, Partner & CIO, Inflection Point Ventures, says, “It is no news that cyber threats are evolving rapidly, risking businesses and individuals’ privacy and finances. Neural Defend’s AI-driven approach to real-time detection perfectly aligns with today’s urgent need for robust cybersecurity and digital identity protection. At IPV, we back companies that solve critical challenges with scalable business models. Their vision and traction so far make them a compelling investment.”
Currently at the pre-revenue stage, Neural Defend is scaling its operations by engaging with global enterprises, fintech companies and financial institutions for product validation and market expansion. With the rise of deepfake threats across industries, the company is well-positioned to drive widespread adoption of its solutions.
What sets Neural Defend apart is its AI agentic, multimodal, real-time deepfake detection technology. Unlike traditional methods, its proprietary AI models detect deepfakes across multiple data formats, including video/ image, audio, real-time streams, ensuring robust fraud prevention for businesses and governments.
“Our goal is to protect real identities against digital deception through innovative AI agentic technology,” said Piyush Verma, CEO of Neural Defend.
With MIT (Boston), IIT, IIM alumni leadership, the startup is rapidly gaining traction among global enterprises and cybersecurity experts. Neural Defend is working with fintech companies and financial institutions focusing on Video verification and KYC use cases. They have already achieved State of the art benchmarks for their technology, demonstrating the effectiveness of their AI-driven fraud detection systems.
With trillions of dollars at risk due to deepfakes globally, the cybersecurity industry is witnessing exponential growth. The demand for real-time AI-driven fraud detection solutions is rising, making Neural Defend’s cutting-edge technology highly relevant in today’s digital landscape.
About Neural Defend
Founded in 2024 by Piyush Verma, Sivashankar Selvarajan, and Sumit Singh, Neural Defend operates in India and San Francisco, USA. The company focuses on deepfake detection and cybersecurity innovation, leveraging AI agentic technology to offer scalable and resilient solutions. Backed by Techstars SF, MIT SBXI and Inflection Point Ventures, Neural Defend is working with global enterprises to enhance identity protection.
About Inflection Point Ventures and Physis Capital
Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) is an angel investing platform with over 23,500+ CXOs, HNIs, and Professionals to together invest in startups. The firm supports new-age entrepreneurs by providing them with monetary & experiential capital and connecting them with a diverse group of investors. IPV has launched a $50 Mn CAT 2 VC fund, Physis Capital, to invest in Pre-Series A to Series B growth-stage start-ups. The fund has already deployed capital in two startups so far, with a few deals in advanced stages of pipeline.
