Apate.AI
AI decoy bots that engage scam calls and texts in real time, wasting attacker time and harvesting fraud intelligence.
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Apate.ai is a Sydney-based AI fraud-prevention company spun out of Macquarie University research, founded by Professor Dali Kaafar alongside co-founders Peter Eckermann and Brad Joffe. Its core product deploys conversational AI “decoy” agents that answer or initiate contact with suspected scammers, engaging them in extended, human-like conversation instead of simply blocking them, to waste attacker time, extract intelligence on fraud networks and tactics, and keep real victims from ever being reached.
The system is deployed across voice, SMS, and messaging channels for telecom, financial services/crypto, and government/law-enforcement clients, with a live partnership with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and telco Mobileum. The company reports over 2.5 million autonomous conversations with threat actors and has raised roughly $10.6M across two seed rounds, most recently an oversubscribed $8.15M extension in September 2026, and has reincorporated in Delaware to support UK/US expansion.
Innovation Matrix Assessment
Fast follow-on funding and a real Mobileum partnership show quick iteration from research to deployed product.
Reduces fraud losses for banks/telcos but addresses a narrow slice of a CISO's overall threat surface.
Two seed rounds, a major-bank deployment, and international expansion are genuine but still early-stage signals.
Decoy-bot engagement is a fresh tactic within an already crowded fraud-prevention space, not a wholesale reinvention.
2.5M+ logged conversations with real threat actors is solid evidence, though figures are self-reported, not independently audited.
Scam/fraud will remain a persistent problem, but the AI-vs-AI arms race could shift tactics quickly.
Why CISOs Should Care
Gives fraud, trust & safety, and telecom-security teams a way to actively disrupt scam operations rather than only detect and block them.
What Makes It Different
Instead of filtering fraudulent contact, it engages attackers with AI decoys to waste their time and harvest threat intelligence.
The Matrix Verdict
60/100 — INCREMENTAL INNOVATOR
A credible, narrowly-scoped innovator with real bank/telco traction but still building out broader market proof.
Editorial Note: Claims vs. Verified Findings
The "2.5 million autonomous conversations" figure and partnership impact claims are vendor-reported and not independently audited.
Sources
- Apate.AI raises $8.15m to fight fraud with AI agents — https://fintech.global/2026/09/01/apate-ai-raises-8-15m-to-fight-fraud-with-ai-agents/
- Australia-based Apate.ai takes anti-scam AI tech abroad with Mobileum deal (ARN) — https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/4220518/australia-based-apate-ai-takes-anti-scam-ai-tech-abroad-with-mobileum-deal.html
- AI-powered cyber-intelligence startup Apate.AI nabs $2.5 million Seed round (Startup Daily) — https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/ai-powered-cyber-intelligence-startup-apate-ai-nabs-2-5-million-seed-round-for-its-anti-scam-bot-army/
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