Keep Aware
Austin, Texas enterprise browser security platform that deploys as a lightweight extension into existing browsers to stop phishing and shadow-AI risk.
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Keep Aware is an enterprise browser security platform that installs as a lightweight extension into employees’ existing browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) via MDM or Group Policy, rather than requiring organizations to switch to a dedicated secure browser. It targets people-targeted, browser-based threats — credential phishing, spoofing, social engineering, malicious extensions, and malicious downloads — and more recently has added visibility into unsanctioned “shadow AI” tool usage inside the browser. The company describes its approach as “human-centric,” designed to operate in ambiguous-risk situations by involving both the end user and the security team in assessing and resolving a flagged action, alongside behavior-based risk scoring and audit logging for compliance.
Founded in 2022 in Austin/Dallas, Texas by CEO Ryan Boerner, Keep Aware raised a $2.4 million seed round in June 2023 led by LiveOak Venture Partners, with Runtime Ventures and cybersecurity angel investors participating. Its named customers include One Workplace (which deployed the extension to over 700 users), along with Sun Star, Embold Health, Stites & Harbison, and Christensen Group per the company’s own site. No larger funding round has been publicly reported since the 2023 seed, and headcount is undisclosed. The company competes in the growing secure/enterprise-browser category alongside vendors like Push Security, Island, and LayerX.
Innovation Matrix Assessment
Steady iteration since 2022 (adding shadow-AI visibility, an annual State of Browser Security report) shows ongoing product development, though pace of major feature releases is not independently documented.
Fast, agentless deployment (5-15 minutes via MDM/GPO) into browsers employees already use lowers adoption friction for CISOs, and a named customer (One Workplace) reports rolling it out to 700+ users with immediate visibility.
Has five named paying customers and a credible seed investor (LiveOak), but the $2.4M round dates to 2023 with no publicly reported follow-on funding as of September 2026, and no independent analyst ranking was confirmed.
The browser-agnostic, no-switch deployment model is a real differentiator versus full secure-browser replacements, but the enterprise browser security category itself is now crowded with well-funded competitors, limiting how disruptive any single entrant looks.
A named customer quote describing immediate results after deployment is a genuine, attributable data point, but there is no independent security test, breach-prevention case study, or analyst validation to support efficacy claims beyond that.
The browser is an increasingly central attack surface (SaaS sprawl, GenAI/agent usage), so browser-layer visibility should remain relevant, though Keep Aware's durability depends on out-executing better-funded rivals in the same space.
Why CISOs Should Care
Closes a visibility gap in the browser itself — where phishing, credential theft, and unsanctioned SaaS/AI tool use actually happen — without forcing a disruptive browser migration across the workforce.
What Makes It Different
Layers security controls into whatever browser employees already use via MDM/GPO deployment, instead of requiring adoption of a new proprietary enterprise browser, and frames incident response as a joint human/security-team decision rather than a fully automated block.
The Matrix Verdict
48/100 — EMERGING / UNRANKED
Keep Aware sits just below the Incremental Innovator threshold in the Emerging/Unranked range: real named customers and a sensible low-friction deployment model give it credible operational value, but stalled-looking funding momentum (no round since 2023) and a crowded competitive field temper the overall score.
Editorial Note: Claims vs. Verified Findings
Customer names, the seed round amount/investors, and the One Workplace deployment quote are independently reported (SecurityWeek, PR Newswire, company blog); precise headcount could not be independently confirmed beyond secondary aggregator listings.
Sources
- SecurityWeek — https://www.securityweek.com/keep-aware-raises-2-4m-to-eliminate-browser-blind-spots/
- Company funding announcement — https://keepaware.com/blog/keep-aware-raises-seed-round-to-eliminate-the-browser-blind-spot
- PR Newswire — https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/keep-aware-raises-2-4-million-to-eliminate-the-browser-blind-spot-with-human-centric-security-301843214.html
- Company site — https://keepaware.com/
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