Cakewalk, a startup focused on AI-powered security tools, has secured $7.5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Kindred Capital and San Francisco’s Vertex Ventures. Notable angel investor Tim Sadler, founder of Tessian, also participated, alongside previous backers Fly Ventures and Seedcamp.
The startup is gaining traction as AI “agents” emerge as a hot new trend in tech. These agents use large language models (LLMs) to handle complex tasks without human help. In Q1 2025 alone, European AI agent startups pulled in €827 million — more than all other GenAI companies combined, according to Sifted.
Simplifying a Big Security Challenge
Cakewalk takes its name from the English phrase meaning an easy task, though the problem it aims to solve is far from simple. It builds AI agents to help businesses manage user access across various software platforms.
Small and medium-sized businesses often struggle with tracking who has access to what tools, especially as AI agents, APIs, and machine identities get added to the mix. This creates serious vulnerabilities, both from inside and outside the organization.
“Tech-driven companies often have users creating access in a distributed way,” said CEO and cofounder Johannes Keienburg. “This broadens a company’s attack surface and creates huge security and compliance risks.”
To address this, Cakewalk has created a suite of AI agents under the banner of “Agent Cake.” One such agent helps IT and security teams automate time-consuming tasks like assigning or revoking user access across the company’s software ecosystem.
Another agent acts as a chatbot for employees. It lets them ask who owns a particular software tool in the company or request access, all through a simple conversational interface. A third agent monitors and maps out all the AI agents being used internally, helping businesses avoid shadow IT and security gaps.
From Stealth Mode to Growth Mode
Cakewalk was founded in June 2022 and emerged from stealth in 2023. Shortly after, it raised an initial €3 million to build out its vision. The team has since doubled in size, growing to 20 members, most of whom are engineers.
Despite the new funding, Cakewalk has no plans to expand its headcount in 2025. Instead, the company will channel the capital into refining its product and strengthening its technical infrastructure.
“It’s a highly technical problem,” Keienburg noted. “We’re focused on making the product simple and intuitive, even though the backend is very complex.”
As demand for AI agents continues to climb, Cakewalk’s timing may be ideal. More companies are becoming aware of the security risks tied to software access. Automating this process — while keeping it user-friendly — positions Cakewalk as a potential leader in a growing market.
The company’s long-term goal is to become the go-to solution for managing digital identities and permissions, especially as organizations continue to integrate more AI and automation tools into their daily operations.
