Cyphlens raises $3.8M to protect data at the Point of View

As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and more visual, Cyphlens is betting that the weakest link in enterprise security is no longer the network or the database, but the screen itself. The New York–based company just raised $3.8 million in oversubscribed seed funding to commercialize what it calls visual encryption, a new layer of protection designed to secure data at the moment it is viewed.

The round drew participation from Salesforce Ventures, Motivate Ventures, DCG, ex/ante and Cambrian Ventures, signaling growing investor interest in security approaches that move beyond traditional encryption models.

Most encryption used today, whether in payments, banking or enterprise systems, protects data at rest (stored in databases) or in transit (moving across networks). Once a user is authenticated and data is decrypted for display, however, those protections effectively end. At that point, Cyphlens noted, sensitive information becomes vulnerable to screen scraping malware, compromised endpoints, insider misuse, shoulder surfing, and increasingly, AI-driven phishing and credential harvesting.

Patented tech to close the gap

Cyphlens aims to close that gap with patented technology that encrypts data visually, transforming sensitive information into a cipher that is unreadable to the naked eye and to automated tools. The data, according to the company, can only be interpreted through a secure decoding "lens," preventing exposure even when content is displayed on a screen. In effect, visual encryption protects the "last mile" of data access where traditional encryption stops.

"In a cybersecurity market full of incremental improvements, Cyphlens is solving a blind spot: data exposure at the point of view," said Rob Keith, partner at Salesforce Ventures. "Their architecture extends zero-trust security to where data is most vulnerable."

For payments professionals, the implications are significant. Payment credentials, account numbers, identity data and transaction details are routinely decrypted for review by employees, partners and third-party service providers. Visual encryption could reduce the risk associated with customer service screens, operations dashboards, remote workstations and shared environments—without requiring wholesale system changes, Ccyphlens affirmed.

Cyphlens said its technology can be layered onto existing applications in minutes, making it practical for enterprises grappling with complex legacy systems. "Our mission is to make the strongest security invisible—so adoption becomes instinctive," said Cyphlens CEO Rocky Motwani.

The company has also expanded its advisory board with leaders spanning healthcare, intelligence and financial services, including former CIA Chief Information Security Officer William MacMillan and XTRM CEO Richard Grogan-Crane.

Cyphlens plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development, expand integrations, and grow its enterprise footprint across financial services, government and healthcare, sectors facing mounting pressure to protect sensitive data from AI-accelerated threats.

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