Jeannie Cahalane
In December 2025, the Italian embedded cybersecurity leader Exein announced an additional €100 million in funding to accelerate its global expansion. The round was led by Blue Cloud Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Balderton Capital.
The company is led by founder and CEO Gianni Cuozzo. Exein is redefining IoT protection by moving security from the network perimeter directly into the device’s firmware.
Traditional cybersecurity fails in the IoT and industrial world because it relies on external firewalls that can be bypassed. Exein addresses this by creating a “digital immune system.” Using advanced eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) technology and specialized Edge AI, Exein embeds its defense layer directly into the kernel of the device software. This allows it to monitor system calls and behavior in real-time, instantly neutralizing threats like zero-day exploits and ransomware at the source without degrading device performance.
The new capital will be used to scale its presence in the US and Asia-Pacific markets, building on its recent native integrations with semiconductor giants like MediaTek to protect billions of connected devices out of the box.
Market Signal
- From Perimeter to Source: This massive €100M round validates a fundamental shift in the security paradigm. As cyberattacks increasingly target physical infrastructure, the market is moving away from “Bolt-on” security toward “Built-in” defense. Investors are betting that the next generation of security winners will be those living inside the hardware.
- The Semiconductor Distribution Play: Exein’s partnership with MediaTek is a masterclass in distribution. By becoming a native feature of the chipset, Exein bypasses the fragmented IoT sales cycle and becomes the de facto standard for “Compliance-by-Design” under the new Cyber Resilience Act.
- Edge AI vs. Cloud Latency: Unlike general-purpose security tools that rely on cloud APIs, Exein’s Edge AI processes threats locally with near-zero latency. This is critical for time-sensitive environments like autonomous vehicles and aerospace, where cloud-dependency is a structural risk.
Key Details
- Company: Exein
- Funding: €100M Extension
- Headquarters: Rome, Italy
- Lead Investor: Blue Cloud Ventures
- Founder: Gianni Cuozzo (CEO)
- Use Case: Embedded defense and firmware-level threat detection
