Email is becoming an increasingly difficult security problem for organisations as artificial intelligence gives attackers the ability to create convincing malicious messages at unprecedented scale. European cybersecurity company xorlab is responding to that shift with a technology focused on understanding how employees and organisations normally communicate, rather than simply searching for known malicious signatures. The company has raised €5 million in a Series A+ financing round to expand across Europe and further develop its email security platform.
The round was led by existing investor Spicehaus Partners, with continued backing from Grapha Holding, EquityPitcher Ventures and ZKB Start up Finance. The fresh capital comes as European businesses face both increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and growing pressure to strengthen digital resilience and maintain greater control over where sensitive security data is processed.
AI Changes the Email Threat
Email continues to be one of the most widely used entry points for cyberattacks. Phishing and business email compromise attacks have become harder to identify as attackers use AI to generate realistic messages, impersonate trusted contacts and tailor requests to specific organisations.
Many of these attacks do not contain malware or previously identified malicious signatures. Instead, they exploit human behaviour through seemingly legitimate requests, such as instructions to transfer money, share information or change payment details.
This creates a challenge for traditional email security systems that depend heavily on previously identified threats. xorlab is taking a behavioural approach designed to identify suspicious activity based on how a message differs from an organisation’s normal communication patterns.
Understanding Communication Behaviour
xorlab’s platform analyses email within the context of an organisation’s existing communication behaviour. The system looks for anomalies including unusual senders, unexpected requests and first time payment instructions that could indicate phishing or business email compromise.
By examining relationships and patterns rather than relying solely on known threats, the company aims to identify attacks that may appear legitimate when assessed only through conventional security signals.
The approach is particularly relevant as AI allows attackers to continuously alter wording, identities and communication styles to avoid detection.
Building European Cybersecurity Infrastructure
xorlab is also positioning its technology around Europe’s growing focus on digital sovereignty and regulatory resilience.
Organisations operating in regulated sectors are facing requirements under frameworks including the Digital Operational Resilience Act and NIS2. These regulations place greater emphasis on cybersecurity, operational resilience and the protection of critical digital infrastructure.
xorlab offers several deployment options. Customers can operate the platform on premises with local processing and storage, use a hybrid configuration or deploy it through the cloud. For cloud customers, processing takes place in European data centres and operations are managed by Europe based staff.
The company says its platform is designed to support requirements associated with DORA, NIS2 and GDPR.
Expanding Across Europe
xorlab serves organisations across financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, critical infrastructure and the public sector. Its customer base includes Julius Bär, Swisscom, Vontobel, G+D and CERN, alongside several major Swiss banks.
The company believes demand for European cybersecurity providers is increasing as organisations reassess their dependence on technology companies headquartered outside the region.
CEO and co founder Antonio Barresi said Europe needs cybersecurity companies capable of developing new approaches rather than simply replicating existing solutions from US providers. He highlighted email as one of the most important attack surfaces being reshaped by AI.
Next Growth Phase
The €5 million Series A+ financing will support xorlab’s European expansion and continued product development. The company plans to initially concentrate its growth efforts on the DACH region, Benelux and the Nordic countries.
With AI making social engineering and email based attacks more convincing, xorlab is betting that security systems capable of understanding communication context will become increasingly important. Its latest funding provides the company with additional resources to build that technology and establish a stronger presence across Europe’s cybersecurity market.
