Berlin-based mobile cybersecurity startup Kazimi has raised €2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round. The company provides security technology that helps mobile apps protect and verify their first-party data.

The funding round was oversubscribed, meaning investor demand was higher than the amount available. The round was led by Market One Capital, with participation from IBB Ventures.

Several experienced mobile and technology executives also invested in the round. These include Petri Hyökyranta, former CTO of Rovio, Janne Peltola, former data scientist at Supercell, and Erik Massmann, former CFO of the Birkenstock Group and Sportradar.

“Until now it has been technically impossible for app developers to have true visibility on which signals originate from real users and which signals come from bots. With our advanced security solution, we are closing the loop and enabling app developers to protect their most important resource – their first party data,” said Kazimi co-founder and chief product officer, Andreas Naumann.

Founded in 2024 by August Joseph, Chase Gummer, Ville Mikkola, and Naumann, Kazimi protects the communication signals generated by mobile apps. Its technology helps app developers collect and verify their first-party data, detect bot activity and identify real users versus fake users.

The solution is designed to perform these tasks while protecting user privacy and meeting compliance requirements.

“I have long been dismayed by the lack of security in mobile marketing and am excited to support a solution that actually enables accurate data and the detection of bots at scale, while remaining compliant with data regulations and preserving user privacy. I’ve known the founding team at Kazimi for a long time and am convinced their approach is a paradigm shift for the entire mobile industry,” according to KAZIMI angel investor, advisor, and ex-Rovio CTO Petri Hyökyranta.

“In the AI era, we believe KAZIMI can become the fundamental security layer for the global app economy that enables secure and accurate first-party data at scale, while being privacy-centric and conforming to the highest data privacy standards worldwide,” says Jacek Lubinski, lead investor and partner at Market One Capital.

“The bot crisis in mobile marketing is the elephant in the room – everyone knows mobile channels are intransparent and lack trust across many industries,” says Erik Massmann, KAZIMI angel investor and former CFO of the Birkenstock Group and Sportradar AG. “The ability to understand what’s real and what’s not real has never been more important – both for utilizing AI effectively and getting rid of fraud.”

“KAZIMI’s solution is truly transformative. Facilitating secure and accurate first-party data free from manipulation by bots and in a privacy-preserving manner will not only make mobile marketing more transparent and efficient, but protect data privacy in accordance with European values,” says Rayk Reitenbach of IBB Ventures.

The company will use the funding to grow its technology and expand into the global mobile advertising market.