Madrid-based cybersecurity startup Acoru has officially stepped out of stealth mode with a €4 million seed round. The funding, led by Adara Ventures and Athos Capital, comes as financial scams—especially AI-driven and socially engineered fraud—threaten banks and fintechs across the globe.
Launched in 2023, Acoru is on a mission to reshape fraud detection. The startup plans to expand internationally while preparing for a larger Series A raise in 2026. It’s targeting one of today’s fastest-growing cyber threats: authorised fraud. This type of scam tricks people into willingly transferring money, often through convincing impersonations or fake emergencies. Unlike unauthorised fraud, these attacks are harder to block using traditional methods.
How Acoru Helps Banks Tackle Authorised and Unauthorised Fraud
Fraud has evolved, and regulations are racing to keep up. Across Europe and the Americas, lawmakers are pushing for stricter reimbursement policies and real-time scam detection. But most fraud detection tools still focus only on blocking unauthorised transactions. Acoru is changing that.
Its platform is built to detect and prevent both unauthorised fraud and social engineering scams before money changes hands. It also identifies money mule accounts—a growing concern in modern laundering schemes. By spotting these early indicators, banks can intervene before damage is done.
The team behind Acoru knows this world inside out. Co-founders Pablo de la Riva Ferrezuelo and David Morán previously founded Buguroo (later Revelock), which was acquired by Feedzai. At their peak, they monitored over 400 million devices across 120 million users. With roots in Deloitte’s Cyber Excellence Centre and Feedzai, the team brings deep technical and industry knowledge to the table.
De la Riva, now CEO of Acoru, sees a growing storm. “Scams now account for roughly 70% of global banking fraud. Financial institutions can no longer rely on old models. Acoru’s approach is about staying one step ahead.”
Smart Tech and Simplicity Power Acoru’s Platform
What sets Acoru apart is its ability to process both structured and unstructured data. Its platform is user-friendly by design, ensuring fraud signals are visible not just to analysts, but across the organisation. This approach helps financial institutions react quickly, even as attacks grow more sophisticated.
Acoru also tracks account behaviour changes to flag suspicious activity. By continuously classifying account types and scanning for fraud signals, the system helps institutions act before an attack unfolds.
For investors, that proactive mindset was a key draw. “AI scams are moving fast. We need defences that move faster,” said Alberto Gómez, Founding Partner at Adara Ventures. “Acoru brings automation and intelligence together to stop fraud at the source. We’re excited to back them as they scale.”
With fraud tactics getting smarter and more complex, the need for agile, real-time solutions is rising. Acoru aims to be at the forefront, helping banks protect both money and trust—before the damage is done.
