Backslash raises USD $19m to secure AI 'vibe coding'

Backslash Security has raised USD $19 million in a Series A round as it positions its platform around security risks tied to "vibe coding" and the growing use of autonomous AI agents in software development.

KOMPAS VC led the round, with participation from Maniv, Artofin Venture Capital, and existing investors StageOne Ventures and First Rays Capital. Backslash previously raised USD $8 million in seed funding.

The company also appointed cybersecurity executive and investor Ron Zoran as an independent board member. Zoran previously served as Chief Revenue Officer at CyberArk.

Backslash is based in Tel Aviv and operates in a market where developers increasingly use AI systems inside their coding tools. These systems can generate and modify software, and some can also trigger deployment steps. Backslash frames the shift as a move from AI-assisted coding to more autonomous, agent-driven workflows.

Changing workflows

Software teams are embedding large language models and related tools into everyday processes. Integrated development environments now commonly connect to AI assistants, and teams link external services through Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. These components can expand what an agent can access during coding.

Backslash argues this shift reduces direct human control over how code changes are made and reviewed. It also says security teams can struggle to track where AI-generated code originated and how it moved through the workflow. In this view, provenance, intent, and approvals become harder to demonstrate when multiple tools and agents contribute to a change.

A Gartner report cited by Backslash said: "by 2028, 40% of new enterprise production software will be created with vibe coding techniques and tools." The comment reflects expectations that AI-assisted development will become routine in large organisations, including where software touches physical systems and regulated processes.

Security focus

Backslash describes its product as an end-to-end security platform for AI-native development environments. It focuses on the processes around AI-assisted and agent-driven coding, rather than on individual tools.

The platform spans IDEs, AI agents, MCPs, prompting workflows, generated code, and governance controls. Backslash says it combines multiple security techniques in one product and provides visibility into AI-driven development activity across tools. Customers can apply guardrails and use monitoring to detect and respond to malicious behaviour.

Attention has increased on how AI coding assistants might introduce security flaws, reuse vulnerable code patterns, or propagate insecure configurations. Security teams also face new access paths created by tool integrations. Agent workflows can rely on credentials, tokens, and external connectors, each of which can broaden the potential blast radius of a compromised developer environment.

Customer view

Backslash pointed to enterprise use through a customer quote.

"GenAI is transforming developer productivity, but we have a responsibility to embrace it safely and securely," said Chris Niggel, Head of Security, Watershed.

"Backslash not only helps us triage vulnerabilities, but also provides visibility and governance over our evolving AI coding ecosystem transparently, and without hindering velocity," Niggel said.

Investors and board

Maniv linked the security challenge to industrial settings where software interacts with physical assets.

"AI-native coding is already a reality in many organizations, and that is increasingly even the case in industrial companies where mission-critical software interacts with the physical world and the stakes are higher," said Nate Jaret, General Partner at Maniv.

"Backslash has correctly recognized that for industry in the physical economy to give its full blessing to AI software tools, security and oversight will need to be woven into the fabric of how these tools are deployed," Jaret said.

"We've been impressed by the deep experience Backslash brings to the table as they help their customers ensure that vibe coding risk is understood and mitigated," he added.

Backslash said its angel investors include Shlomo Kramer, Ron Zoran, and Brian Fielder. Zoran's appointment adds a senior industry operator with sales leadership experience in privileged access management and broader enterprise security buying cycles.

Growth plans

Backslash plans to use the new funding to expand R&D hiring and operations and to broaden its commercial presence in the US and Europe. It also linked the investment to rising demand from enterprise security teams as more AI tools enter the development pipeline.

Shahar Man, Backslash Security's co-founder and CEO, said the company is seeing AI adoption pressure from both management and developers.

"We've passed the point of no return on how enterprise software is being developed and managed. Organisations are no longer sitting on the fence - they are propelled by both boardroom pressures to adopt AI for greater efficiency and speed, and by developers who see the massive benefits of using AI coding," Man said.

"But security cannot and should not be left behind. By providing quick, broad visibility and deep protection capabilities for the entire stack, we enable our customers to gain confidence in the inevitable journey towards vibe coding, and do so without putting their infrastructure and applications at risk," he said.

Backslash plans to expand its work with enterprise security teams as organisations widen their use of AI agents, IDE integrations, MCP servers, and large language models across software development workflows.