Polygraf AI has raised $9.5m in seed funding to scale its secure AI technology for enterprise, defence and intelligence applications.
The round was led by Allegis Capital, with participation from Alumni Ventures, DataPower VC, Domino Ventures, and existing investors. The fresh capital will accelerate Polygraf AI’s mission to build trusted AI systems capable of operating in the most sensitive and high-stakes environments.
Founded by technology pioneer Yagub Rahimov, who serves as the company’s CEO, Polygraf AI focuses on creating secure AI architectures that prioritise transparency and trust. Its proprietary Small Language Models (SLMs) are designed to protect both data integrity and decision-making processes, providing a security layer against deepfakes, data leaks and other synthetic threats.
The newly raised funds will be used to fuel product expansion, research and development, and go-to-market initiatives. These efforts aim to strengthen Polygraf AI’s presence across industries where AI adoption is accelerating but data governance remains a key concern—particularly in the defence, intelligence, financial services, and healthcare sectors.
Announcing the funding at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Rahimov highlighted the urgency of addressing the risks associated with large, cloud-trained AI models, noting that Polygraf’s approach offers a more secure, explainable and locally deployable alternative.
“Polygraf is tackling one of the most consequential problems of the AI era—TRUST,” said Spencer Tall, managing director at Allegis Capital, the lead investor in the round. “Their Small Language Model architecture and on-prem AI approach represent a fundamental shift in how enterprises will deploy and govern AI. We’re proud to partner with the Polygraf AI team to help enterprises adopt AI with confidence and compliance.”
“The world is realising that large, cloud-trained models come with large, unpredictable risks,” said Yagub Rahimov. “At Polygraf, we are on a mission to eliminate those risks. We’re proving that you can have both intelligence and integrity—a private AI for sensitive missions that is small, local, explainable, and trustworthy. This funding enables us to double down on our vision to protect the world’s most critical operations, where failure simply isn’t an option,” Rahimov added.
Over the past year, Polygraf AI has seen rapid adoption in sectors where compliance and data protection are paramount. Its locally deployed AI modules can run on as little as 8Gb RAM and a 1.3GHz CPU, offering organisations a lightweight yet powerful defence against deepfake fraud and insider threats.
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