Cybord Raises $7M Extended Series A for Visual AI Inspection
Cybord, an Israel-based deep visual-AI platform for inspecting electronic components, has raised $7M in extended Series A funding led by Capri Ventures. The platform detects counterfeits, defects, tampering, and hardware cyber threats inline during SMT assembly. The capital will accelerate U.S. sales expansion and product deployment.
Counterfeit Crisis Drives AI Demand
The raise aligns with escalating counterfeit risks in electronics supply chains. Suspect counterfeit reports hit 1,055 cases in 2024, a 25% year-over-year increase and a nine-year high per ERAI. Cybord's real-time inspection addresses gaps in traditional methods, serving sectors like aerospace and automotive where compliance standards demand traceability.
Inline Inspection Exposes Hidden Threats
Electronics manufacturers face rampant counterfeits costing billions annually, with seizures like $160M in fake Nvidia chips highlighting vulnerabilities. Current solutions like manual checks or basic AOI miss micro-traceability and cyber threats. Cybord scans 100% of components for BOM/AVL compliance without added hardware, trusted by Cisco, Siemens, Flex, Intel, Nvidia, and SpaceX.
Visual AI Enables Zero Trust Manufacturing
Cybord's ShieldScan performs full PCBA visual-AI inspection, analyzing top-side markings for unmatched traceability. Unlike board-level AOI from incumbents like Koh Young Technology or Cognex, it verifies component authenticity at 99.9% accuracy across 60+ production lines. The system integrates with existing SMT lines and MES like Siemens Opcenter.
As CEO Oshri Cohen stated:
"Trust doesn’t scale well in a world of shortages, substitutions, and complexity."
Investors Back Supply Chain Resilience
Capri Ventures led the round, with participation from Ocean Azul Partners, IL Ventures, and NextLeap Ventures. Capri's track record includes cybersecurity exits like Siemplify to Google, signaling conviction in Cybord's hardware security niche. Existing seed investors doubled down, validating post-Series A traction after $8.7M initial A and $4M seed.
AOI Market Scales with AI Shift
The automated optical inspection market reached $1.01B in 2023 and projects growth to $3.64B by 2030 at 20% CAGR per Grandview Research. Trends favor AI for defect and counterfeit detection over traditional 2D/3D systems. Competitors like Test Research (TRI) and SAKI focus on general inspection, while Cybord targets cyber-physical threats in high-reliability sectors.
Ex-Nvidia Leader Drives Global Scale
CEO Oshri Cohen brings VP Supply Chain experience from Nvidia and Mellanox (acquired for $7B). CTO Eyal Weiss founded Cybord after a defense project failed due to a counterfeit capacitor, backed by Israel Security prizes and Soreq NRC R&D leadership. The team includes IDF 8200 veterans and execs from acquired cyber firms, complementing hardware expertise.
U.S. Expansion Targets High-Security Sectors
Funds establish U.S. sales leadership with new Chief Business Officer Tyler York. Recent milestones include Siemens Opcenter integration, air-gapped platform for defense, and patents for component tracing. Cybord analyzed billions of components, positioning for growth amid CHIPS Act traceability mandates.