Seattle-based startup Certiv has emerged from stealth with $4.2 mn in pre-seed funding to tackle the security risks created by autonomous AI agents.
Certiv has raised $4.2 million in a pre-seed funding round to advance what it calls “Runtime Assurance for AI Agents,” a new control layer designed to govern how autonomous systems operate on employee devices. The investment will support the company’s engineering expansion and accelerate early enterprise deployments as organizations grapple with emerging AI-driven security risks.
The funding round attracted backing from Aviso Ventures, Founders Co-op, and Fortson, signaling growing investor interest in AI security infrastructure. Andrew Peterson of Aviso Ventures noted that enterprises increasingly require a new class of controls to manage autonomous systems, highlighting the rapid evolution of the AI security stack.
Certiv is entering the market at a time when AI agents such as Claude Code and GitHub Copilot Workspace are gaining traction within enterprises. These tools are capable of executing code, accessing files, and interacting with sensitive systems using employee credentials – introducing a new layer of risk for organizations already struggling to maintain visibility and control.
Traditional security solutions, according to Certiv, are not designed to monitor systems that act autonomously and make decisions in real time. This gap has created a need for more adaptive and intelligent security approaches tailored specifically to AI-driven workflows.
To address this challenge, Certiv has developed an endpoint-first security model. Its platform installs directly on employee workstations across Windows, macOS, and Linux environments, acting as a control point that intercepts and observes AI agent activity before it reaches critical systems or causes potential harm.
This approach provides deeper visibility into on-device AI operations, including tool usage and data access that may bypass conventional network-level security tools. Rather than analyzing isolated actions, Certiv’s system evaluates the full chain of reasoning behind an agent’s behavior, enabling it to infer intent and enforce more precise policy controls in real time.
The company is led by CEO Jason Needham, CTO Paul Allen, and Chief AI Officer Daniel Morris, bringing together expertise in cybersecurity, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence. Based in Seattle, Certiv currently operates with a team of nine employees and is now entering its next phase of growth.
As competition intensifies in the emerging AI governance space, Certiv is positioning itself with a focused approach centered on endpoint-level agent behavior. This niche is becoming increasingly relevant as enterprises deploy autonomous tools directly onto employee devices.
With fresh funding in place, Certiv plans to expand its engineering capabilities and scale its enterprise pilots. The company reports that it is already running multiple pilot programs, indicating early traction as it works to establish runtime assurance as a distinct and essential category within AI security.
Recommended Cyber Technology News :
- Palo Alto Finds AI Agent Flaw in Google Vertex AI
- Openreach Transforms Customer Engagement with NiCE AI Agents
- Google DeepMind Flags AI Agent Hijacking Threats
To participate in our interviews, please write to our CyberTech Media Room at info@intentamplify.com
