Exein

Cybersecurity · IoT/Embedded Security · Physical AI

Funding

Exein raises $270M at $1.7B valuation, Europe's top cybersecurity startup

The Rome-based startup is betting that securing autonomous machines at the chip level, not networks, defines cybersecurity's next decade.

• Exein raised $270 million at a $1.7 billion valuation in a round led by Headline, with the round significantly oversubscribed, making it Europe's most valuable cybersecurity startup.
• Exein builds runtime cybersecurity for connected devices, protecting over two billion devices across industrial, automotive, energy, healthcare, aerospace and robotics sectors via its Photon platform.
• Alongside the equity round, Exein upsized its existing revolving credit facility led by J.P. Morgan, with KfW joining as an additional lender.
• Exein's valuation has increased thirty-fold over two years, and its H1 2026 annual recurring revenue was up 4x year-on-year.
• Exein is developing a proprietary foundation model trained on machine telemetry from over two billion devices to secure 'Physical AI' systems like robots, drones and autonomous vehicles, distinct from models trained on human-generated data.
• The funds will accelerate US and APAC expansion, fund a new San Francisco Bay Area office, boost US hiring, and support M&A opportunities.
• As AI moves into machines that perceive and act in the physical world, security is shifting from network perimeters to the device itself, and investors are now pricing that shift at billion-dollar scale.