Startups > Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security stops email attacks using AI behavioral analysis for enterprises.

Series D $557M total Founded 2018 San Francisco, California 777 employees

Abnormal Security is an AI-native email and cloud application security platform that uses behavioral anomaly detection and natural language processing to stop sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks and account takeovers. The platform deploys via API in minutes and ingests thousands of behavioral signals to block socially engineered, payloadless attacks that bypass traditional email filters. It protects over 3,200 organizations including 25%+ of Fortune 500 companies across email, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and 12+ SaaS applications including Salesforce, Workday, and Slack. What sets Abnormal apart is its AI-first approach that replaces legacy Secure Email Gateways with autonomous threat detection that learns legitimate business communication patterns.

Problem solved

Business Email Compromise attacks cost organizations an average of $125K per incident and bypass traditional email security filters because they use legitimate communication patterns without malicious payloads.

Target customer

Mid-market to enterprise organizations (500+ employees) with sophisticated email security needs, particularly those protecting against Business Email Compromise and account takeover attacks. Includes financial services, manufacturing, retail, and technology companies.

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Founders

Evan Reiser

CEO & Co-Founder

Serial entrepreneur who founded Bloomspot (acquired by JP Morgan in 2010) and AdStack (acquired by TellApart/Twitter in 2015); previously worked at Twitter before returning to enterprise technology startups.

Sanjay Jeyakumar

CTO & Co-Founder

MS Computer Science from Stanford University; founding engineer at TellApart and lead engineer at Google.

Jeshua Bratman

Head of Machine Learning

Part of founding team focused on machine learning research and algorithm development.

Funding history

Seed $22.5M April 2018 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series A $24M November 2019 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series B $50M October 2020 Led by Menlo Ventures · Greylock

Series C $210M May 2022 Led by Insight Partners · Unknown

Series D $250M August 2024 Led by Wellington Management · Greylock Partners, Menlo Ventures, Insight Partners, Falcon Fund

Total raised: $557M

Industries

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cyber Security Information Technology Email Network Security

Pricing

Per-employee annual model with list pricing typically $15-$35 per employee per year. Mid-market deployments (500-2,000 employees) typically negotiate $18-$28 per employee annually, while large enterprises (5,000+ employees) often achieve $12-$20 per employee. Longer commitments (2-3 years) yield 15-30% discounts.

Notable customers

Xerox, Hitachi Vantara, Urban Outfitters, Marmon Holdings, CSC Generation, Valvoline Inc.

Integrations

Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Workday, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Amazon Web Services

Tech stack

React (JavaScript frameworks) Next.js (Web servers) lit-html (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) Webpack Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Mouse Flow (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Facebook Pixel (Analytics) HSTS (Security) Node.js (Programming languages) Google Workspace (Email) 6sense (Marketing automation) Marketo (Marketing automation) Microsoft Advertising (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Plasmic (Page builders) Vercel (PaaS) Osano (Cookie compliance) DigiCert (SSL/TLS certificate authorities)

Website

abnormalsecurity.com/

Competitors

Proofpoint

Broader email security portfolio with longer enterprise presence, but less focused on AI-native behavioral detection than Abnormal.

Check Point Avanan

Cloud-native email security acquired by Check Point; competes on multi-cloud coverage but lacks Abnormal's autonomous behavioral anomaly detection depth.

Mimecast

Established email security and archival platform with broader data loss prevention capabilities but not as AI-focused on behavioral threat detection.

Why this matters: Abnormal Security represents the next generation of email security by replacing legacy on-premises and cloud-based gateways with AI-native behavioral detection. The company's $5.1B valuation, $200M+ ARR with 100%+ YoY growth, and 25%+ Fortune 500 adoption signal that enterprises are moving away from signature-based email security toward autonomous threat detection. Its technical approach—analyzing behavioral patterns rather than payloads—addresses a genuine market gap in detecting sophisticated BEC attacks that cost organizations $125K+ per incident.

Best for: Enterprise organizations seeking to replace legacy email gateways with AI-driven behavioral security that detects Business Email Compromise and account takeovers without disrupting legitimate business communication.

Use cases

Business Email Compromise Prevention

Financial services and manufacturing companies use Abnormal to stop sophisticated BEC attacks where attackers impersonate executives to request wire transfers. By analyzing behavioral patterns, tone, and context rather than just file signatures, Abnormal catches these attacks that slip past traditional filters. CSC Generation reported zero payment fraud since deployment.

Email Account Takeover Detection

Large enterprises deploy Abnormal to detect when employee email accounts are compromised and used to send malicious messages. The platform monitors behavioral anomalies like unusual sending patterns, recipient lists, and content language to identify compromised accounts in real-time without requiring password resets.

Secure Email Gateway Replacement

Organizations like Valvoline use Abnormal to retire legacy Secure Email Gateway appliances and consolidate security into a cloud-native platform. This reduces infrastructure complexity while improving threat detection through machine learning algorithms that continuously learn from organizational communication patterns.

Multi-Cloud SaaS Security

Global enterprises with distributed SaaS infrastructure use Abnormal to extend behavioral security beyond email to Salesforce, Slack, ServiceNow, and AWS. This provides uniform threat detection across all cloud applications where sensitive data and communications flow.

Alternatives

Proofpoint Choose Proofpoint for broader integrated email and data loss prevention capabilities; choose Abnormal for superior AI-native behavioral anomaly detection focused specifically on BEC.

Mimecast Choose Mimecast for integrated archival and compliance features; choose Abnormal for cutting-edge behavioral AI threat detection without legacy email gateway complexity.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Choose Microsoft Defender if already deeply invested in Microsoft 365; choose Abnormal for superior behavioral threat detection and multi-cloud application security.

FAQ

What does Abnormal Security do? +

Abnormal Security is an AI-native security platform that uses behavioral anomaly detection and natural language processing to stop Business Email Compromise attacks, account takeovers, and sophisticated email threats. It deploys via API to protect email and 12+ connected SaaS applications including Salesforce, Slack, and Workday. The platform analyzes thousands of behavioral signals to block attacks that bypass traditional security filters.

How much does Abnormal Security cost? +

Abnormal uses per-employee annual pricing with list rates of $15-$35 per employee per year. Mid-market companies (500-2,000 employees) typically pay $18-$28 per employee annually, while large enterprises (5,000+ employees) negotiate $12-$20 per employee. Multi-year commitments (2-3 years) provide 15-30% discounts. Contact sales for custom quotes.

What are alternatives to Abnormal Security? +

Main competitors include Proofpoint (broader email security suite), Mimecast (integrated archival and compliance), Check Point Avanan (cloud-native competitor), and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (built into Microsoft 365). Abnormal differentiates through superior AI-native behavioral detection specifically designed to stop BEC attacks.

Who uses Abnormal Security? +

Over 3,200 organizations use Abnormal, including 25%+ of Fortune 500 companies. Notable customers span financial services, manufacturing, retail, and technology: Xerox, Hitachi Vantara, Urban Outfitters, Valvoline, and CSC Generation. Target customers are mid-market to enterprise organizations (500+ employees) with sophisticated email security needs.

How does Abnormal Security compare to Proofpoint? +

Both protect against email threats, but Abnormal focuses on AI-native behavioral anomaly detection specifically designed for Business Email Compromise and account takeover detection. Proofpoint offers broader integrated capabilities including data loss prevention and threat response. Abnormal's cloud-native, API-first architecture replaces legacy email gateways, while Proofpoint maintains more traditional email security positioning.

Does Abnormal Security integrate with Microsoft 365? +

Yes, Abnormal fully integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for email protection. Beyond email, it integrates with 12+ SaaS applications including Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, Slack, and Amazon Web Services to provide uniform behavioral threat detection across the entire cloud infrastructure.