Mind Gets $30M to Boost AI for Endpoint Data Loss Prevention

A startup led by the ex-CEO of Hexadite raised $30 million to pursue a data security strategy that focuses on prevention rather than posture visibility.

Seattle-based Mind will use the Series A funds to double down on unstructured data security by building lightweight agents and pushing small language models to devices for real-time classification and protection, according to co-founder and CEO Eran Barak. He said the money will extend Mind’s capabilities around email data loss prevention and architectural AI innovation and strengthen their focus on endpoints.

“The Mind AI classification engine that we are running on the cloud, we’re going to start pushing that to the device itself, which is really a differentiator,” Barak told Information Security Media Group. “It’s with small language models that can run on the device itself and classify data on the fly without sending it back to the cloud for analysis. It gives you much more depth and precision, as well as speed.”

Mind, founded in 2023, employs 40 people and has raised more than $40 million, having most recently completed an $11 million seed round in October 2024 led by YL Ventures. The company has been led since inception by Barak, who previously started SOAR vendor Hexadite in 2014, sold it to Microsoft in June 2017 and spent more than four years as Microsoft’s principal program manager (see: Netskope Purchases Dasera to Strengthen Cloud Data Security).

What Makes Mind’s Approach to Data Security Different

The company’s Series A round was led by Paladin Capital Group and Crosspoint Capital Partners. Barak praised Paladin’s federal cybersecurity ties and Crosspoint’s deep domain expertise in DLP through folks like Greg Clark, who was previously CEO of Symantec and Blue Coat. Mind was initially targeting a $20 million Series A round, but ending up closing at $30 million since it was oversubscribed.

“I knew Paladin from before,” Barak said. “These are really highly connected guys in the cybersecurity space, especially in the federal market. And on top, we had Crosspoint, who not just invested as part of the RSAC Innovation Sandbox, but also doubled down and invested more now as part of the Series A.”

Many companies merely provide visibility into data exposure after the fact, which he said is insufficient in preventing breaches. Mind, by contrast, is built around proactive data protection by operating at the endpoint level, where the data originates and is most vulnerable. Their platform uses a lightweight agent that operates across both web-based and native applications to detect and prevent data leaks.

“When it comes to data security, if I give you visibility, it’s nice, but then the data is gone,” Barak said. “You already got breached. So you know that you got breached, but it’s too late. So what you really need is prevention. And prevention, the only way to do it is to be on the device itself, either it’s your laptop, desktop or mobile and so on. And this is what we are doing here at Mind.”

Unlike approaches that focus on structured data like credit card numbers or social security numbers, he said Mind’s system is capable of classifying domain-specific, sensitive documents like pharmaceutical recipes, manufacturing specs and even unreleased songs in the entertainment industry. Mind is moving classification logic from the cloud to the endpoint, using compact, specialized language models, he said.

“This is where our AI capabilities come into play and basically give you recommendations and learn how you use the data internally and come up with policies popping up to you,” Barak said.

Why Mind Focused on Go-to-Market From the Outset

Unlike many early-stage startups that defer go-to-market execution until after product development, Barak said Mind has built a scalable marketing and sales infrastructure from the outset. Mind has automated its entire marketing and lead qualification pipeline, making it easier to scale outreach and engagement. On the sales side, Mind is currently focused on North America, but has plans to expand into the United Kingdom and European Union by the end of 2026 through partners like Paladin.

“Coming as a second-timer here, I realize how important is to go-to-market, even when you start building the product,” Barak said. “So we already hired the team in place even before the Series A with a CRO that used to work with me at Hexadite.”

Most Mind customers today are Microsoft shops, using tools such as Office 365 and Azure, but frustrated by the limited and often clunky DLP capabilities included in those suites, Barak said. Mind is seeing strong demand from organizations that are looking to replace or supplement Microsoft’s native tools with something that offers greater flexibility, configurability and control over sensitive data flows, he said.

“We have customers with data from thousands up to tens of thousands of users, which the system can support, including the endpoint, which is very impressive at our stage,” Barak said. “And I think, the next process the company will be able to go to is six-figure employee-wise customers.”

On the financial front, Barak said Mind plans to grow annual recurring revenue to at least $10 million within the next two years. Barak is focused on scaling the customer base from tens to hundreds of enterprise clients, all while maintaining endpoint coverage. The company is laser-focused on scaling revenue and adoption, refining product-market fit and preparing for a larger Series B down the line.

“We want to be in the eight-digit, ARR-wise in terms of revenue,” Barak said. “This will be the main kind of metric. And the second one, obviously, among customers, we have tens of customers and we want to go to three-digit number of customers, be able to support them.”