This Month's AI Agents News

AIONA Raises ¥140 Million Led by ON&BOARD for AI Agent “REVY” Automating Design Tasks

 [AIONA](https://www.aiona.co.jp/en), the developer of the AI agent “REVY” that automates and supports design tasks in the manufacturing industry, announced on the 24th that it has raised a total of ¥140 million. The funding was announced through a [press release](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000020.000155874.html). The funding consists of the issuance of J-KISS type new stock acquisition rights through a third-party allocation and loans from Aichi Bank and Mizuho Bank. ## Post navigation ### [Manufacturing Site Improvement DX App "GEMBA" Secures ¥45 Million in Seed Funding from ANOBAKA and Others](https://thebridge.jp/en/2026/09/manufacturing-site-improvement-dx-app-gemba-secures-%c2%a545-million-in-seed-funding-from-anobaka-and-others) [back to top](https://thebridge.jp/en/2026/09/aiona-raises-%C2%A5140-million-led-by-onboard-for-ai-agent-revy-automating-design-tasks)

Thebridge 1 week, 3 days ago

CX start-up funding news: September 25

# Every CX start-up funding deal you need to know: September 25 ## **Kastle raises $24m in Series A led by Insight Partners** The two-year-old San Francisco start-up is building the AI workforce for financial services, beginning with consumer lending, and to date, its [AI agents](https://www.cxnetwork.com/guides/ai-agents-for-customer-experience-a-complete-guide) have processed more than $1.8 billion in transactions. Through its agents, Kastle proposes a new operating model for financial services: hybrid teams in which AI agents handle high-volume, repeatable work, while people focus on complex cases requiring judgment, expertise, empathy and relationships. Kastle deploys AI agents that can navigate complexity, pass the bar on regulatory rigor and get high-stakes work done without waiting for a multiyear transformation. ## **Baselayer raises $35m from M13 in Series A** New York-based start-up Baselayer, which provides identity verification and fraud-risk assessments for financial institutions, including credentials that verify AI agents, closed its Series A round with $35 million. The round marks the first dedicated capital injection into Know Your Agent identity infrastructure, which is the layer that lets banks, merchants and platforms verify which AI agent they are dealing with, who it represents and whether it is authorized to act. The funding round news broke within hours of [six global banks publishing](https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-experience/news/6-global-banks-collaborate-on-principles-for-trusted-agentic-commerce) [a framework](https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-experience/news/6-global-banks-collaborate-on-principles-for-trusted-agentic-commerce) for secure and trustworthy agent payments. ## **Sela raises $21m to mimic top sales performers for voice automated mortgage calls** Sela is developing AI voice agents that automate mortgage sales calls and connect borrowers with loan officers when required. Its AI agents help loan officers originate more than $1 bi

Cxnetwork 1 week, 3 days ago

8 insights from Proofpoint Protect: Security bets on intent as AI agents join the workforce

AI ### 4. AI agents emerge as insider risks concentrated on enterprise endpoints. Don’t miss the [full interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhhsfqWsvMw) on theCUBE.

Siliconangle 1 week, 3 days ago

Autonomous AI Hacks Raise Thorny Questions of Legal Accountability

The prospect of legal accountability around AI is unclear, but what happens when the hackers aren't human?

Securityweek 1 week, 3 days ago

Senate Panel Will Delve Into Rogue AI Threat

# Senate Panel Will Delve Into Rogue AI Threat ## Why it Matters Autonomous AI agents broke out of their controlled environment in July 2026, compromising systems at both OpenAI and Hugging Face, putting Congress on alert about whether the federal government has any tools to respond when AI systems act without authorization.

Legis1 1 week, 3 days ago

I Think I Found an AI Agent Worth the Risk

Instinct saved me $550, booked my restaurant reservations, and warned me about a phishing scam. It also wasted $64 and might be a security nightmare.

Wired 1 week, 3 days ago

US-Israeli browser startup valued at $6.4 billion as AI agents reshape workplace risk

With the $400 million in new funds announced on Thursday, the US-Israeli firm plans to hire more engineers for its Tel Aviv research and development center and expand its browser platform to help businesses manage security threats as AI agents are increasingly integrated into the everyday workplace. The Dallas-based firm was founded in 2020 by Dan Amiga, a serial entrepreneur and veteran of the Israeli army’s 8200 unit, and Mike Fey, former Symantec President. - [AI agents](https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/ai-agents/)

Timesofisrael 1 week, 3 days ago

AI Agents Transforming Travel Distribution: Who Wins at the Point of Decision?

In Brief: In this ITB Berlin interview, Bhanu Chopra explains how AI agents are reshaping the sales chain, becoming new gatekeepers, and why real-time data...

Hotelnewsresource 1 week, 3 days ago

AI agent security moves deeper into runtime

### Palo Alto Networks tackles the risks of autonomous AI agents Palo Alto Networks Inc. is addressing that change through [Prisma AIRS integrations](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/prisma-airs-contact-us?utm_source=google-jg-amer-portfolio-brnd-port&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=google-portfolio-ai_netsec-amer-multi-discovery-en-brand&utm_content=701Ki000000osCfIAI&utm_term=palo%20alto%20prisma%20airs&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23588641131&gbraid=0AAAAADHVeKlh6TyvXixH5rNC9tdKmEM_Q&gclid=CjwKCAjwj7HTBhBiEiwA8s35OlFMkHGqkQMzuzaaEOInTSt5RCDlzhynyi4fAy0fAlpRNMOhIFpQlhoCa_gQAvD_BwE) designed to inspect agent activity within Google Cloud environments. “We can’t treat agents like a chatbot,” Thellmann said. Thellmann spoke with theCUBE’s [John Furrier](https://www.linkedin.com/in/furrier/) for the [Google Cloud: AI Agents in Action Series](https://www.thecube.net/events/google/ai-agents-in-action) on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how Palo Alto Networks is [securing autonomous agents](https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/12/idira-launches-palo-alto-networks-extends-cyberark-tech-machine-agentic-identities/), model activity and tool interactions within Google Cloud. ### AI agent security moves beyond prompts “You’ll have these autonomous beings, non-humans, within your network that are just doing things all the time, either in isolation or together,” he added.

Siliconangle 1 week, 3 days ago

Report: Companies Need a New Playbook to Unlock the Value of AI Agents

24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As AI agents move beyond experimentation, companies must decide not just where to deploy them, but how work itself should change.

Prnewswire 1 week, 3 days ago

OpenAI Agents Tried to Hack Four More Websites While Seeking Data

# OpenAI Agents Tried to Hack Four More Websites While Seeking Data ## AI agents sent to gather basic online data tried to hack into government and university sites when they hit roadblocks, joining a growing list of rogue incidents By [Sam Schechner](https://www.wsj.com/news/author/sam-schechner) Updated Sept. 24, 2026 12:51 pm ET [67](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-agents-tried-to-hack-four-more-websites-while-seeking-data-4c0689f4#comments_sector) Listen (2 min) An OpenAI spokesman said the company is conducting an extensive review of what it calls misaligned activity. Carlos Barria/Reuters [OpenAI](https://www.wsj.com/topics/subject/openai)’s artificial-intelligence agents were performing mundane online data-collection tasks earlier this year—and went to extraordinary lengths to get it. Newly published findings from nonprofit AI research lab Transluce, as well as from the Australian government, found that AI agents linked to OpenAI attempted in May and June to break into university and government websites to seek information. The attempted hacks join a growing list of incidents in which AI agents have gone rogue in pursuit of their goals. Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 Already a subscriber? [Sign In](https://www.wsj.com/client/login?target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Ftech%2Fai%2Fopenai-agents-tried-to-hack-four-more-websites-while-seeking-data-4c0689f4)

Wsj 1 week, 3 days ago

AI agents are exposing the limits of the unauthorised access trigger

## **The next agent may not announce itself** She called for enforceable oversight of autonomous AI, rather than relying on companies to discover and explain their own failures.

Insurancebusinessmag 1 week, 3 days ago

Cyera lands $400m from Goldman Sachs to secure AI agents

**[Cyera](https://www.cyera.com/), a data security company building a unified data and identity platform for enterprises, has secured a $400m investment from Goldman Sachs to strengthen control over what AI agents can access and do.** The funding supports the company’s goal of creating one platform to govern access for every human, machine and AI agent operating within an organisation. It will also use the funding to expand further into the federal market and to keep growing internationally across EMEA and APAC, regions where enterprises increasingly want oversight of their agents. The raise comes as AI agents take on a growing share of enterprise work.

Fintech 1 week, 3 days ago

Kontext Security Emerges With $4 Million for AI Agent Runtime Controls

Co-founded by Jens Ernstberger and Michel Osswald, the Munich, Germany-based startup has built a runtime security platform that provides organizations with visibility and control over AI agents’ actions. ### Artificial Intelligence Australia disclosed that an OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to non-public government information.

Securityweek 1 week, 3 days ago

Startup Primo raises €6.9 mn to expand AI agents for enterprise IT

Paris-based Primo raised €6.9 mn to expand autonomous AI agents for IT operations after reaching €3.4 mn ARR and more than 400 customers.

Beinsure 1 week, 3 days ago

Instinct Users Say They've Noticed a Slowdown With the Buzzy AI Agent

# Instinct users say they've noticed a slowdown with the buzzy AI agent Users of the [buzzy personal AI agent startup](https://www.businessinsider.com/noah-shinn-instinct-ai-competes-meta-muse-2026-9), a rival to Meta's hugely popular Muse, have been reporting a slowdown in the app's speed at answering questions and completing tasks. As a smaller startup lacking the immense computing resources of an established company like Meta, Instinct faces a challenge in matching the computing resources [AI agents](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-agents-travel-plan-europe-trip-muse-instinct-grok-bot-2026-9) require, Hang Huang, a San Francisco-based founder, said on X. This month, Alexandr Wang, Meta's chief AI officer, mockingly dubbed Shinn's startup "Insect" and posted that Muse is much faster — and "hotter."

Businessinsider 1 week, 3 days ago

Pharma.AI 2026 Fall Update preview: Agentic AI takes the wheel of pharmaceutical intelligence

## **Highlights at a Glance** ### **Generative Biologics** Additionally, the new Generative Biologics MCP integration enables autonomous AI agents to connect directly into Insilico's biomolecule stack, driving fully automated, end-to-end antibody design and screening workflows. ### **PandaOmics** Furthermore, integrating the PandaOmics Agent via MCP connects the engine directly to proprietary AI infrastructures, enabling autonomous agents to execute end-to-end target discovery and validation workflows.

Eurekalert 1 week, 3 days ago

How Dataiku Solves Enterprise AI Agent Sprawl and Risk

Kurt Muehmel explains how Dataiku's new Agent Management tracks multi-platform activity to close the accountability gap and ensure AI agents deliver ROI.

Technologymagazine 1 week, 3 days ago

Ando wants to take on Slack with a team messaging app that lets humans and agents work together

# Everything new coming to Meta’s AI agent Muse ## Shopping partnerships and connectors galore The company received more than 1,500 applications in less than week, he said, adding “I think this could be a generational opportunity to start building for a new platform as it takes off, and the response so far has been really great.”

Techcrunch 1 week, 3 days ago

Archipelo Announces Salmon, Execution Verification Infrastructure (EVI) for AI Agents and Autonomous Systems

As AI agents take and delegate consequential actions, safety and control need verifiable execution history — Salmon makes it cryptographically verifiable.

Tech 1 week, 3 days ago

Island Hits $6.4B Valuation with $400M Series F to Secure the AI Agent Era

## What was announced The funding is designed to support Island’s role in providing visibility and auditing for enterprises scaling AI agents. This investment gives us even more capacity to innovate with our customers and help them safely scale AI." ## What FF News has reported before FF News has recently tracked a surge in high-value funding rounds for AI-centric enterprise platforms. ## What this means **DALLAS – September 24, 2026 –** [Island](http://island.io/), the agentic control plane for enterprises, announced its $400 million Series F financing round which brings the company’s valuation to $6.4 billion, more than doubling since 2024. The funding will fuel the company’s next phase of growth and innovation as enterprises scale AI agents and modernize how work gets done.

Ffnews 1 week, 3 days ago

Exclusive: From Booking Calls To Late Check-Ins, Dextr AI Raises $6.7M For Hotel AI Agents

- [Facebook](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/dextr-ai-hospitality-agents-raises-seed-funding/#) - [Twitter](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/dextr-ai-hospitality-agents-raises-seed-funding/#) - [LinkedIn](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/dextr-ai-hospitality-agents-raises-seed-funding/#) So Shariff offered to build an AI agent for a couple of properties. That work led him to team up with [Scott Arnold](https://www.crunchbase.com/person/scott-arnold-8f92) to start [Dextr AI](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/dextr-ai), the San Francisco startup they founded in July 2025. The company is now emerging from stealth with $6.7 million in seed funding to build agents that handle reservations, guest requests, staff coordination and other hotel tasks. [Elevation Capital](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/elevation-capital-6e8a) led the raise, with participation from [Foundation Capital](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/foundation-capital).

News 1 week, 3 days ago

Kontext raises $4M to put guardrails on AI agents for banks and fintechs

# Kontext raises $4M to put guardrails on AI agents for banks and fintechs - Kontext has secured $4 million to set up policy controls that determine what AI agents do before they take any action. - The Munich-based company of four people is now focusing on financial services as well as software development. - 42CAP led the funding round, with a16z CSX and Germany’s HTGF also participating. ## From coding agents to banking compliance teams According to Ernstberger, the majority of its customers now come from the financial services sector, particularly mid-sized and large companies. The funding follows a recent incident in which an OpenAI agent, during a security test in July, escaped its sandbox and gained access to external systems, such as Hugging Face, even though no one was directly in control of it. The agentic AI security market [is set to grow from $1.65 billion this year to $13.52 billion by 2032](https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/agentic-ai-security-market-surges-143000080.html), representing a 42% annual growth rate. ## A four-person team up against rivals with $185 million in backing Ernstberger has experience in the venture capital industry and is currently raising funds. Having completed a research internship at a16z Crypto before founding Kontext, he is now supported by the firm’s CSX division. “Since I had previously worked at a16z, there was already a link with the venture capital community, and it is currently a good time to be working in this area,” he tells _TFN_, stressing that “he wouldn’t necessarily consider it difficult to raise money.” In August, Zenity, an AI agent governance company based in Israel, raised $125 million in its Series C financing, making its total funding amount approximately $185 million. Noma Security has raised $132 million across three funding rounds and has a $400 million valuation. Earlier this year, [Barcelona’s NeuralTrust completed a $20 million seed round](https://techfundingnews.com/neuralt

Techfundingnews 1 week, 3 days ago

Kontext raises $4M to control what AI agents are allowed to do inside businesses

### Kontext raises $4M to control what AI agents are allowed to do inside businesses German artificial intelligence security startup [Kontext](https://kontext.security/) today announced $4 million in new funding for software that controls what AI agents are allowed to do once they are running inside a business. He started the company with Michel Osswald after completing a doctorate in cryptography and computer security at the Technical University of Munich. Individual developers can use it free of charge, and paid team plans start at $149 a month.

Siliconangle 1 week, 3 days ago

Cybersecurity startup Island valued at $6.4 billion amid AI agent security risks

Earlier on Thursday, Australia said an OpenAI agent [breached a government health data portal in June](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-pm-albanese-says-openai-breached-medicare-sydney-morning-herald-2026-09-23/), gaining ​unauthorized access to files. Dallas-based Island, which develops enterprise security tools, said the funding will fuel the company's next phase of growth and innovation as companies scale ​AI agents ​and modernize workflows.

Reuters 1 week, 3 days ago

Cyber startup Island hits $6.4 billion valuation in new round as AI attacks fuel spending wave

- The Dallas-based firm joins a growing list of startups looking to secure businesses against rogue AI. The scramble to secure businesses against swarms of [rogue](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/09/israeli-startup-irregular-linked-to-ai-hacks-openai-anthropic-meta.html?qsearchterm=rogue) [artificial intelligence](https://www.cnbc.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/) agents is fueling demand for new security tools.

Cnbc 1 week, 3 days ago

Digest: Shopify Taps Meta’s Muse for Agentic Checkout; Brian O’Kelley’s Startup Makes AI Agent Pivot

**In today’s Digest, we discuss Shopify tapping Meta’s Muse for agentic checkout, Brian O’Kelley’s startup pivoting to AI agents, and a Microsoft patent revealing plans to pause games for ads.** ##### **Brian O’Kelley’s Startup makes AI agent pivot** Scope3 cofounders Brian O'Kelley and Anne Coghlan are rebranding the company as Apostra moving away from its original focus on ad-industry carbon emissions and toward agentic AI advertising instead. The platform's core idea is to let AI agents representing advertisers negotiate directly with agents representing publishers and other media sellers, sparing marketers from having to build separate integrations with what could be thousands of individual media partners. Notably, Apostra isn't charging the transaction fees typical of adtech middlemen. It plans to monetise through add-on services like negotiation support and campaign evaluation instead. ##### **Microsoft patent reveals plan to pause games for ads** MadTech Daily: Shopify Taps Meta’s Muse for Agentic Checkout; Brian O’Kelley’s Startup Makes AI Agent Pivot # MadTech Daily: Shopify Taps Meta’s Muse for Agentic Checkout; Brian O’Kelley’s Startup Makes AI Agent Pivot MadTech Daily: Shopify Taps Meta’s Muse for Agentic Checkout; Brian O’Kelley’s Startup Makes AI Agent Pivot The MadTech Podcast• [SUBSCRIBE](https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/8956333/embed?v=202301#) 0:00 1:46 1× [Agentic AI](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/category/agentic-ai/) [AI](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/category/ai/) [In-Game](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/category/in-game/) [Marketing](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/category/marketing/) [Rebrand](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/category/rebrand/) #### Related articles [](https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2026/07/21/how-to-market-to-an-ai-agent/) [![](https://cdn.exchangewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/188f59

Exchangewire 1 week, 3 days ago

AI Agent Breach Raises Accountability Concerns

An Australian AI governance expert has called for stronger accountability after an AI agent gained unauthorised access to Australia's Medicare health...

Stratnewsglobal 1 week, 3 days ago

Autonomous AI hacking agents outrank human hackers

A new Exabeam-commissioned survey finds 48% of security leaders rank autonomous AI agents with excessive access as their top threat, ahead of hackers and...

Notebookcheck 1 week, 3 days ago

OpenAI agent's attack the 'first' government hack by autonomous AI, researchers say

A swarm of OpenAI rogue AI agents appear to have gone on a spree of trying to access Australian government health data, in what some researchers say is the...

Abc 1 week, 3 days ago