Cleafy raises fresh capital to tackle AI banking fraud
Italian cybersecurity company Cleafy has secured a €12 million funding round to scale its real-time fraud prevention platform for digital banking. The investment comes as banks worldwide struggle to contain increasingly sophisticated scams powered by AI algorithms and automated attack tools.
Real-time defence against evolving banking threats
Cleafy specialises in protecting online and mobile banking channels from threats such as account takeover, social engineering scams and malware-based attacks. Instead of relying solely on static rules, the platform continuously analyses user behaviour, device fingerprints and session data to identify anomalies that signal potential fraud.
By monitoring every step of a digital session, Cleafy aims to detect attacks before money leaves a customer’s account. Its technology is designed to recognise patterns associated with phishing campaigns, remote access tools, scripted bots and AI-assisted impersonation, which are increasingly used to bypass traditional security layers like one-time passwords.
Founders target global expansion
The company, founded by Italian cybersecurity specialists, has grown alongside the rapid digitisation of banking services. The new funding will support product development, expansion into new European markets and deeper integrations with existing banking platforms and payment providers.
The founders argue that financial institutions can no longer rely on legacy anti-fraud tools that react only after suspicious transactions appear. Instead, they promote a proactive, session-based approach that combines machine learning, threat intelligence and behavioural analytics to stop attacks at the earliest possible stage.
Rising pressure on banks to combat AI-powered crime
Banks are under mounting regulatory and reputational pressure to reduce customer losses from scams, particularly as criminals exploit generative AI to create convincing messages, voices and fake support agents. Platforms such as Cleafy position themselves as critical infrastructure for financial institutions seeking to maintain trust while enabling seamless digital experiences.
With this latest €12 million injection, Cleafy plans to strengthen its research into emerging threat vectors and enhance its analytics engine, aiming to stay ahead of fraudsters who are rapidly industrialising cybercrime with AI.