StealthMole, a Singapore-based cybersecurity firm, has bagged $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Korea Investment Partners (KIP).
StealthMole said in a statement on Thursday that the round was also joined by Hibiscus Fund, a multinational joint venture between RHL Ventures, Penjana Kapital, and KB Investment) and Smilegate Investment.
According to the statement, StealthMole will be using this fresh injection of funds to strengthen its global expansion efforts, as well as further developing its technology use cases for various sectors.
Having established a strong foundation in the business to government (B2G) market, the Series A funding round is expected to further diversify its capabilities to fulfil emerging cybersecurity demands from the enterprise sector.
Home to some of the world’s largest digital economies, the accelerated digital transformation gripping Asia-Pacific (APAC) has increased its vulnerability to sophisticated cybercrime attacks.
Additionally, the cost of defending against cyber threats is expected to double in the next three years, reaching upwards of US$23 trillion by 2027.
Founded in response to these growing cybersecurity needs, StealthMole is an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital investigation and threat monitoring platform focused on detecting and mitigating cybercrime within the Asian region.
The company is helmed by Louis Hur, an enterprise information technology (IT) security specialist who previously founded a South Korean cybersecurity firm; and Simon Choi, a leading threat investigator and former adjunct professor who has extensive experience with South Korea’s national police and intelligence services.
“StealthMole came about from a critical market gap I encountered while working in cybersecurity and white-hat hacking: a severe lack of data points and information networks specifically within Asia,
“At the same time, data leaks, anonymised transactions, and all manner of cybercrimes were spiking — both due to malicious intent and human error. To better understand digital threats, it’s crucial for law enforcement, intelligence agencies, corporate security teams, and cybersecurity experts to analyse regional contexts and their impact on illicit activities,” shared Louis Hur, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of StealthMole.
According to the statement, StealthMole’s technology traces criminals using 255 billion analyzed data points from the dark web, deep web, and various hidden sources while leveraging advanced AI.
Simon Choi, Chief Technology Officer of StealthMole, who has observed hacking activities and data theft increasingly targeting companies, sees huge potential also in the B2B sector to improve cyber incident response and prevention with StealthMole’s technology.
Meanwhile, Kim Min-Q, Managing Director at KIP, said that as organizations across the world continue to digitize, cybercrimes will not only become more rampant but also more advanced.
“StealthMole has shown tremendous agility in this regard, aggressively growing its AI and machine learning capabilities for seamless investigation by building correlations across multiple data sources from the dark web itself to insulated platforms like Telegram,
“We feel strongly about the impact StealthMole will have in making the world a better place,” he added.
Steven Hong, Principal at KB Investment, said that his investment reflects the firm’s confidence in StealthMole’s vision for continued success, particularly in uncovering emerging cyber threats across Southeast Asia and positioning themselves as global leaders originating from Asia.
According to him, the agency’s success is largely attributed to their team of white-hat hackers, cyberthreat analysts, digital forensics experts, and open-source intelligence (OSINT) specialists — who all have extensive individual careers in cybersecurity.
Park Jung-In, Senior Vice President of Smilegate Investment, said that the StealthMole team comprises highly recognized security specialists within the industry, and this expertise is something they appreciate as long-time catalysts of tech startup expansion.
“Smilegate Investment is excited to support their continued international growth, especially as they branch out into more commercial uses,
“For example, South Korea is one of the world’s premier gaming hubs, and would appreciate safer gaming experiences and greater protection of creators’ intellectual property,” he added.
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