AI Governance & Security Vendor Wiki

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Lakera

Researched 2026-06-28. Primary category: ai-runtime-security. Acquired by Check Point Software (announced 2025-09-16; expected close Q4 2025).

One-liner — An AI-native runtime-security pure-play (real-time prompt-injection / GenAI defense, of “Gandalf” fame) being acquired by Check Point to anchor its AI-security stack.

What it does

Lakera protects LLMs, GenAI apps and autonomous/agentic systems at runtime. Its core product, Lakera Guard, screens inputs and outputs in real time against prompt injection, jailbreaks, data leakage, and model manipulation across multiple AI frameworks. Its threat intelligence is fed partly by Gandalf, a viral prompt-injection education game (>1M players; >50M data points) used even by Microsoft for security training. Lakera also does AI red teaming.

Where it sits in the stack

Primary ai-runtime-security (inline AI firewall / guardrails) with a secondary ai-red-teaming tag. Layer: model-prompt. Lethal-trifecta role: strongest on untrusted input (it is the best-known prompt-injection defender) and sensitive data (output/data-leak screening). Sits at the green↔red boundary in front of model endpoints.

Deployment & architecture

SaaS and self-hosted; primarily API-based (low-latency guardrail calls around model requests) plus SDK integration — model- and cloud-agnostic. On close, Lakera will combine with Check Point Infinity / GenAI Protect and form the foundation of Check Point’s Global Center of Excellence for AI Security. Integrations: AI gateways, the app’s LLM pipeline, SIEM.

Positioning & differentiators

Lakera is the category’s best-known prompt-injection specialist, with a research-and-community moat (Gandalf, an open prompt-injection dataset) and a lightweight API-first guardrail rather than a heavy inline proxy. Founders came from Google/Meta AI. Nearest neighbors: prompt-security, calypsoai, witnessai, aim-security, prisma-airs, enkrypt-ai, mindgard, hiddenlayer.

Ownership, funding & M&A

Founded 2021 by David Haber (CEO), Dr. Mateo Rojas-Carulla and Dr. Matthias Kraft; dual HQ Zurich + San Francisco. Funding ~$30M total, headlined by a $20M Series A (July 2024) led by Atomico (Citi Ventures, Dropbox, redalpine). Acquired by Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) — announced 2025-09-16; deal value not disclosed, press reports ~$300M; expected to close Q4 2025. Verified against Check Point’s own press release and corroborating press; confirms the seed flag (“acq by Check Point”). Confidence: high (note: at research date the close is announced/pending per the release — treat as agreed, closing Q4 2025).

CTO / hedge-fund lens

Day-1 control type — a runtime AI firewall focused on prompt injection is a baseline control for any shop exposing LLMs to untrusted input. Lakera’s API-first model suits teams that want guardrails in code without standing up an inline proxy. Indirect SR 11-7 relevance (control + red-team evidence). Post-acquisition, Check Point customers get it natively; standalone buyers should weigh whether it stays available outside the Check Point platform. Good fit for funds building their own LLM apps/agents.

Competitors / alternatives

prompt-security, calypsoai, witnessai, aim-security, prisma-airs, cisco-ai-defense, enkrypt-ai, mindgard, hiddenlayer.

Open questions / to verify

  • Confirm the deal closed (announced 2025-09-16, expected Q4 2025) — verify completion date when available.
  • Official deal value (press ~$300M; not disclosed).
  • Whether Lakera Guard remains available standalone post-integration.

Sources

History

  • [2026-06-28] Stub created from seed registry.
  • [2026-06-28] Researched; confirmed acquired by Check Point Software (announced 2025-09-16, ~$300M reported, expected close Q4 2025). Seed flag verified. Filled founding (2021), Zurich/SF HQ, founders, ~$30M funding, Gandalf/prompt-injection positioning. Confidence high (close pending per release).

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