COGNNA Lands $9.2M Series A to Expand Its AI-Driven Security Platform

Ibrahim Alshamrani and Ziyad Alshehri, COGNNA Co-Founders

Saudi cybersecurity startup COGNNA has raised $9.2 million in Series A funding to scale its AI-led security operations platform. The round was led by Impact46, co-led by BNVT Capital, and joined by Vision Ventures and tali ventures. The announcement came during Black Hat MEA 2025 in Riyadh.

The raise follows COGNNA’s $2.25 million seed round closed in November 2023, also led by Impact46 with participation from Vision Ventures, Faith Capital and other investors.

COGNNA, founded by CEO Ibrahim AlShamrani and CTO Ziyad AlSheri, is building an AI-driven security operations platform that automates detection, prediction and response. The company describes its system as an “agentic SOC” that aims to anticipate attacks before they disrupt organisations. COGNNA says its Nexus platform delivers faster threat detection, lower security operations costs and enterprise deployment in under 30 minutes.

“This funding represents more than capital. It is a validation of our vision to protect the digital future of humanity,” AlShamrani said. AlSheri added that the company is focused on shifting cybersecurity from reactive defence to “intelligent prevention,” accelerating R&D in AI automation and global expansion.

Investors say the startup stands out for its technical depth in a market that has been dominated by global players. Impact46 managing partner Basmah Alsinaidi said, “COGNNA is one of the few teams in the region pushing real technical depth in cybersecurity. Their work with agentic AI gives enterprises something they have been asking for: clarity, speed and reliability in moments where it matters most.”

Vision Ventures CEO and founding partner Kais Al Essa said COGNNA’s platform reflects “years of hands-on experience” solving real security problems in the Gulf. “They understand the gaps that organisations in our region deal with and have been building their platform around real operational needs, not theoretical ones. We believe they can grow from strong regional capability into a company that competes confidently on the global stage.”

The Series A round will support global expansion, hiring across engineering and SOC operations, and further development of COGNNA’s AI-led SecOps platform. The company is one of the fastest-moving security startups in Saudi Arabia as demand for intelligent, scalable cybersecurity accelerates across the region.

Source: FWDStart