Overwatch raises $15 million to fight AI-blended cybercrime

Bisen's argument rests on a shift he has watched accelerate: AI has made cybercrime faster, cheaper, and more interconnected. Attackers no longer treat a cybersecurity exploit, a fraud scheme, and money laundering as separate jobs, he says, which is why he and Zara Perumal founded Overwatch in 2022 to help companies defend against digital threats holistically rather than in silos.

The scale of the problem shows up in the examples Bisen cites. One threat actor launched over 100 attack campaigns in about five days and compromised 27 payment sites, then skimmed card details for over 600,000 cards. He also describes real-seeming businesses, such as bookshop websites and computer repair outfits, that turned out to have links to gambling and the movement of illegal cash.

Overwatch's investor list points to where the pain is felt most. Visa Ventures and Capital One Ventures joined the round, and Visa, Capital One, Cash App, SoFi, Stripe, and DoorDash are customers, suggesting payments and financial firms see blended digital threats as an operational concern rather than a distant one. Bisen's remark that software-as-a-service is not dead when it comes to the illicit economy captures the dynamic: criminals now buy specialist tools for sending scam texts or gathering stolen logins, much as legitimate businesses buy software.