Clearwater, Fla. – Guardare, a local cybersecurity startup, closed an oversubscribed $5.6 million follow‑on funding round on Monday. The round, led again by Utah‑based early‑stage venture firm Album VC, also included participation from Ten Eleven Ventures and other investors.
Funding will fuel growth and product rollout
CEO and co‑founder Lars Letonoff said the new capital will be directed toward hiring, sales, marketing and further product development. “The focus is now to just scale quicker to get to Series A funding,” Letonoff explained.
The company previously raised $5.1 million in 2025, also led by Album VC. Guardare’s platform integrates with existing security tools to surface misconfigurations, missing protections and other exposures, then provides step‑by‑step guidance for remediation.
Founders draw on Clearwater experience
Both Letonoff and co‑founder Dane Fiori spent years at Clearwater‑based KnowBe4, a well‑known security awareness training provider. Their experience at KnowBe4 inspired Guardare’s creation. Fiori noted that many organizations rely on IT staff who lack deep cybersecurity expertise, creating a gap that Guardare aims to fill with artificial‑intelligence‑driven guidance.
“You have these hundreds of thousands of organizations that rely on information technology staff to handle cybersecurity functions and they don’t necessarily know exactly what to do and in what order to do it,” Fiori said. “IT and cybersecurity are completely different beasts. It’s a completely different language.”
AI at the core of the solution
Guardare’s technology uses artificial intelligence to provide a “paint‑by‑numbers” experience, simplifying complex security tasks for IT teams. Letonoff described AI as “efficiency on steroids,” noting that AI now touches every job in a modern enterprise.
The platform focuses on people, devices and software, helping break down silos between IT and security departments. According to Fiori, large enterprises have been using the product effectively for the past year and a half, improving collaboration and reducing the risk of misconfigurations across diverse tech stacks.
Product timeline and market outlook
The public beta launched in March 2025, and a commercial version became available by July of the same year. Letonoff called the current cybersecurity landscape “the perfect storm of complexity,” citing the proliferation of tools, regulatory demands and evolving threats. He believes AI is essential for navigating that storm.
With the new funding, Guardare plans to expand its sales force, deepen integrations with leading security vendors and accelerate the roadmap toward a full Series A round later this year.
Local impact
The infusion of capital is expected to create new jobs in the Clearwater area, reinforcing the region’s growing reputation as a hub for cybersecurity innovation. Guardare’s growth also adds to the broader economic development efforts championed by local business leaders and the Pinellas County Economic Development Council.
Original reporting: St. Pete Catalyst — read the source article.
