Acoru, a pioneering cybersecurity firm in the fraud and scam detection space, has officially launched its operations following a successful period in stealth mode.
The company secured €4 million seed funding in 2023 from Adara Ventures and Athos Capital, and is already preparing for its next round of Series A funding in 2026, marking a pivotal step in its mission to revolutionize fraud prevention in the financial sector.
Financial institutions worldwide are grappling with a significant shift from unauthorized fraud (when a fraudster makes a payment without the victim’s knowledge or consent) to authorized fraud (when a victim is tricked into knowingly initiating a payment to a fraudster) schemes, amplified by advancements in generative AI. This evolution has led to more sophisticated and convincing scams, increasing losses due to fraudulent activities. Additionally, new regulations like PSD3 and PS23/4 are introducing more complexities in compliance and reimbursement processes for financial institutions.
In response to these challenges, Acoru has developed a NextGen platform equipped with generative AI, enhanced analytics, and a configurable intelligence network. The platform excels at tracking account changes and detecting mule accounts by leveraging pre-fraud indicators and continuously monitoring and classifying account types over time. This preemptive approach anticipates omnichannel fraudulent attacks, providing financial institutions with a proactive and robust defense against evolving threats.
“The fraud landscape is evolving rapidly, with scams now accounting for approximately 70% of total banking fraud worldwide,” stated Pablo de la Riva, CEO of Acoru. “Acoru is committed to staying ahead of these trends by developing innovative solutions that address the latest challenges faced by financial institutions.”
Acoru’s platform leverages advanced technology to process both structured and unstructured data, delivering insights through an intuitive, user-friendly interface that anyone in the organization can easily understand. This democratization of expertise levels the playing field in financial crime detection, ensuring that advanced tools are accessible to any user across the organization. The platform’s intuitive interface, easy customization, and effectiveness in identifying pre-fraud signals before incidents occur have driven rapid adoption.
“AI-driven scams are advancing rapidly, demanding innovative defenses from financial institutions to stay one step ahead. Acoru delivers just that - leveraging intelligence and automation to detect fraud signals and stop scams before they happen,” said Alberto Gómez, Founding Partner at Adara Ventures. “We’re proud to support the team as they begin to scale their impact internationally.”
Acoru’s founders Pablo de la Riva Ferrezuelo and David Morán bring over 20 years of expertise in cybersecurity and fraud prevention. They previously founded Buguroo, later rebranded as Revelock and acquired by Feedzai, achieving milestones such as monitoring over 400 million devices for 120 million users worldwide. With experience at global firms like Deloitte’s Cyber Excellence Center and Feedzai, they are uniquely positioned to tackle the dynamic challenges in fraud prevention.
As a European company with a growing presence in the Americas, Acoru plans to use the funding to continue its international expansion.