Upwind brings Aegis into company as AI Security Labs targets emerging AI threats. FinanceWire Sep. 23, 2026, 08:52 AM New York City, United States, September 23rd, 2026, FinanceWire The rapid adoption of AI agents and AI-powered workflows is creating a new layer of cybersecurity challenges, from the components that extend an AI system's capabilities to the credentials and access those systems can use. Upwind is expanding its response with the acquisition of AI security startup Aegis and the creation of a dedicated AI Security Labs initiative, as first reported by Axios. Aegis co-founders Omri Limor and Saar Ankonina will lead the new labs, which will focus on researching emerging AI security risks and developing capabilities across scanning, attack detection and AI security. The move brings Aegis's technology and team into Upwind as the cybersecurity company continues its work around cloud and AI environments. An Acquisition Built Through Collaboration Aegis was founded by Limor and Ankonina, who are both alumni of 8200. The two began their careers together in the intelligence unit focused on offensive cybersecurity and subsequently worked together in different roles before becoming peers. Following their time in the unit, they established Aegis around security problems emerging from AI infrastructure. The startup concentrated on sophisticated AI-generated attacks, including autonomous exploitation pipelines and large-scale credential harvesting. The founders initially approached Upwind about a strategic partnership and investment. The companies subsequently spent several months working together before Upwind acquired Aegis and established AI Security Labs. For Upwind, the acquisition provides a dedicated group focused on a part of cybersecurity that is changing alongside the development of AI itself. "AI security is developing extremely quickly, and by acquiring Aegis and bringing Omri and Saar on board, we are building a team that can move just as quickly," said Amiram Shachar, CEO and Co-Founder at Upwind. "The Aegis team brings a deep understanding of the challenges around securing agents, skills, and plugins, and by combining that expertise with Upwind's existing platform, we can move from research to real-world security capabilities much faster." The Security Layer Around AI Workflows AI agents can interact with applications, access information and execute tasks. Skills and plugins can further expand what those systems can do, but they also introduce additional components that organizations need to secure. That expanding attack surface will be one of the areas addressed by Upwind AI Security Labs. The initiative will research emerging risks and develop capabilities intended to identify and address them. Secret security will also be a key area of focus. Upwind pointed to industry findings involving API keys and session tokens being compromised and harvested at scale, highlighting the need for scanning both in transit and at rest across cloud and AI environments. The approach reflects Aegis's original focus on AI-specific security challenges. "We initially built Aegis as a startup to tackle the missing security layer around AI agents, skills and plugins," said Omri Limor, Co-Founder of Aegis. "After spending several months working together with Upwind, it became clear that joining forces through an acquisition and establishing AI Security Labs inside Upwind would allow us to move much faster and combine our technology with the capabilities Upwind has already built." Ankonina said joining Upwind would also provide the team with a way to scale its technology. "Integrating our technology directly into Upwind's platform gives us an immediate path to scale," added Saar Ankonina, Co-Founder of Aegis. "The establishment of AI Security Labs provides the ideal environment to accelerate research and protect enterprise AI workflows." A Team Designed to Expand The labs already have 12 developers and researchers from the two companies. Upwind expects the team to reach approximately 25 people within three months, with the potential to grow to 35 as the initiative develops. "We built AI Security Labs on the foundation of the Aegis acquisition with the ambition to create a significant research and engineering capability within Upwind," said Shachar. "We expect the team to grow from 12 people today to 25 and potentially 35 in the coming months, allowing us to expand our research and accelerate the development of new AI security capabilities." That growth is tied to a broader goal: shortening the distance between security research and deployable technology. As AI capabilities develop, new attack techniques can emerge quickly, creating pressure on security teams to identify risks and develop defenses without lengthy delays. From Emerging Research to Enterprise Security Upwind says AI Security Labs will combine the acquired Aegis technology and team with its existing platform and market strategy. The goal is to accelerate the development of security capabilities based on emerging AI risks and bring those capabilities into practical use. The initiative therefore represents an extension of Upwind's existing cloud and AI security mission rather than a standalone research effort. "As AI transforms both the threat landscape and the speed of modern cyber operations, this is the ideal moment to build, innovate, and lead in cloud and AI security," added Shachar. "With AI Security Labs, Upwind is reinforcing its mission to protect modern enterprise infrastructure and ensure organizations can safely embrace the next era of AI innovation." Contact. 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AegisAI has raised $36 million in Series A funding led by Battery Ventures, bringing total funding to $49 million since its founding less than a year ago. Accel and Foundation Capital also participated. The cybersecurity startup uses AI agents to detect sophisticated phishing attacks that bypass traditional rule-based security systems. Founded by former Google employees Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo, the company mimics human analysis to identify subtle anomalies in incoming messages. AegisAI plans to expand beyond email security into broader data protection. Early clients include Mash, LangChain and Lokker. The company faces competition from specialised startups like Ocean and established cybersecurity vendors integrating their own AI capabilities.