High-Level Overview
Innerworks is a cybersecurity startup founded in 2020 that builds an AI-powered security platform acting as the "immune system" for digital ecosystems, detecting synthetic AI-generated interactions with 97% accuracy to combat fraud, bots, and deepfakes.[1][2] It serves exchanges, launchpads, payment protection platforms, and critical infrastructure by providing invisible intelligence for fraud prevention, compliance, geo-detection, account farm protection, and dynamic user profiling, addressing massive threats like €184bn in annual bot-driven losses and 2,000%+ rise in deepfake fraud since 2022.[1][2] In August 2025, it secured a €3.7m ($4m) seed round to scale its platform amid surging AI-led cybercrime.[1][3]
Origin Story
Innerworks was incorporated on 21 September 2020 as INNERWORKS TECHNOLOGY LIMITED (company number 12891874) in the UK, with its registered office in Canterbury, Kent.[4] It was founded by CEO Oliver Quie, Oscar Hayek, and Tom Ryan, who developed a platform distinguishing human behavior from AI imitations after recognizing gaps in traditional security assuming threats behave differently from users.[1] Early traction included testing in national infrastructure defense, partnerships with major digital asset platforms, and exposing malicious activity in a €1.38bn cryptocurrency hack linked to North Korean operatives, proving its real-world efficacy before the 2025 seed funding.[1]
Core Differentiators
- Synthetic Threat Intelligence and RedTeam Engine: Continuously generates synthetic attacks at scale to proactively stress-test and harden defenses, adapting faster than adversaries unlike reactive fraud platforms; enlists global ethical hackers and AI agents via a crypto-bounty program for real-world weakness exposure.[1][2]
- 97% AI Detection Accuracy with Minimal Integration: Identifies AI-generated interactions silently in the background with minimal code, linking device, behavior, network, VPN/geo-analysis, and proprietary data into intelligent graphs for bot detection, account farms, credential stuffing, and compliance profiles.[1][2]
- Proven in High-Stakes Environments: Deployed against largest crypto breaches and infrastructure threats, outperforming obsolete tools against sophisticated AI deception mimicking legitimate users.[1]
Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
Innerworks rides the explosive growth of AI-driven cyber threats, where deepfakes and bots caused €184bn in losses in 2024 alone, positioning it as essential infrastructure for internet trust amid rising fraud in fintech, crypto, payments, and gambling.[1][2] Its timing aligns with AI proliferation making traditional security obsolete, leveraging decentralized training and proactive offense to counter state actors like North Korean hackers and evolving attacks. By powering exchanges and launchpads, it bolsters the digital asset ecosystem's resilience, influencing broader adoption of "immune system" layers that enable secure human-digital interactions at scale.[1]
Quick Take & Future Outlook
Innerworks is primed to expand as core internet security with its €3.7m seed, targeting platform scaling and defenses against advancing AI crime, potentially dominating fraud prevention in crypto and payments.[1][3] Trends like escalating deepfakes, regulatory demands for compliance (e.g., geo-restrictions), and AI arms races will propel it, evolving from crypto-focused defender to ubiquitous digital protector. Its proactive RedTeam model could set new standards, amplifying influence as AI threats harden the need for adaptive intelligence like its own.[2] This "immune system" for the internet cements Innerworks as a vital layer securing human trust in an AI-saturated world.[1]
