Anti-phishing attack startup Pixm Software Inc. said today it has closed on a $4.3 million round of seed funding to help it bring its browser-based cybersecurity software to the enterprise market.

Today’s round was led by Gula Tech Adventures, with participation from FirstIn, AIM13-Crumpton Ventures Partnership, Chaac Ventures and Precursor Ventures.

Pixm has created an interesting browser extension that relies on advanced computer vision technology to identify and prevent targeted “phishing” attacks. Often known as social engineering attacks, phishing is when attackers send malicious emails that look like they come from a genuine source. They often redirect users to fake websites, with the intent to trick them into entering their financial information, system credentials or other sensitive data into a form.

Pixm says it uses computer vision technology to try to prevent such attacks because existing anti-phishing tools are unreliable. Although older security apps can scan for signatures indicating a website is spoofing a legitimate company, they only work if someone has previously fallen victim to it. So there’s no way to detect new phishing threats.

Computer vision adds new capabilities because it’s a field of artificial intelligence that allows computers to “see” in the same way humans can. Pixm’s goal is to look at phishing from the end user’s perspective and detect the things attackers use to gain someone’s trust.

A user may see a logo and text that appears legitimate so they automatically trust it, but Pixm’s software will notice if it is using a different origin, domain or IP address. The software recognizes visual branding associated with hundreds of commonly phished brands, including Gmail and Outlook and multiple financial services providers.

Pixm can be thought of as the last line of defense, operating in the browser at the moment a suspicious link is clicked. Its software can run on multiple different browsers and devices.

Pixm founder and Chief Executive Chris Cleveland said his company has seen hundreds of phishing attacks that have completely thwarted traditional corporate protection tools.

“Many of these phishing attempts target a broad range of critical infrastructure sectors including power grids, aerospace, pharmaceutical, and more,” he said. “Some attacks are able to penetrate advanced corporate email protection, including cloud and endpoint security, while many others flow entirely around it via vectors like Facebook, LinkedIn and even Coinbase.”

The company’s free browser extension has been available for years, but it has only just released its first enterprise product. Pixm says it is seeing rapid adoption among companies.

“We are excited to partner with investors like Gula Tech Adventures who have helped build today’s cyber industry,” Cleveland added. “This raise will enable us to further deliver our computer vision solution to the enterprise market and fulfill our vision of redefining phishing security on the endpoint.”

Image: Pixm