SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund Makes Inaugural Bet on AI Security Firm WitnessAI
Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has made its first-ever investment through its new corporate venture capital (CVC) fund. The fund, named the "SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund" and launched in collaboration with Fin Capital, has participated in the recent $58 million funding round for WitnessAI, an emerging leader in artificial intelligence security and governance. This inaugural investment marks a clear strategic move by SMBC to back foundational technologies shaping the future of finance.
1. SMBC's Strategic Push: The New Corporate Venture Capital Fund
SMBC’s establishment of a dedicated U.S. CVC fund signals its strategic intent to engage directly with the dynamic American financial technology ecosystem. This move positions the bank at the forefront of innovation, allowing it to identify and support startups developing next-generation solutions for the industry.
The vehicle for this strategy is the "SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund," which was officially established on July 28, 2025. The fund’s mandate is to execute CVC activities by investing in promising U.S. financial technology startups, providing SMBC with a direct channel to emerging trends and disruptive technologies.
A key pillar of the fund's strategy is its collaborative partnership with Fin Capital. This structure is designed to leverage the distinct strengths of both organizations: SMBC's deep-rooted expertise and leadership in the global financial industry, combined with Fin Capital's specialized knowledge and track record in venture investing. With its foundation firmly established, the fund has moved swiftly to make its first major play in the market.
2. The First Move: Analyzing the Investment in WitnessAI
A CVC fund's inaugural investment is a declaration of its investment thesis and a clear indicator of the technological domains it deems critical. The selection of WitnessAI for the SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund's first deployment underscores a strategic focus on the essential infrastructure required for the safe and compliant adoption of artificial intelligence within the enterprise.
The investment was part of a significant funding round that highlights broad investor confidence in WitnessAI's platform and market position.
- Company: WitnessAI
- Total Round Size: $58 million
- Lead Investor: Sound Ventures
- Notable Participants: Fin Capital (investing from the SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund), Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and Forgepoint Capital Partners
WitnessAI has established itself as an emerging leader with its unified AI security and governance platform. Its core function is to secure enterprise-wide AI usage by protecting sensitive data, governing prompts, and ensuring regulatory compliance. The platform provides deep observability for both human and autonomous agent workforces, mitigates emerging threats like prompt injection, and is built on an enterprise-first, single-tenant architecture to ensure data sovereignty. This allows organizations to innovate and scale their adoption of multi-generational AI applications with confidence.
The company's significant business momentum further validates its selection. Over the past 12 months, WitnessAI has demonstrated explosive growth, achieving key metrics that signal strong market traction:
- 500% growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
- 5x scaling of employee headcount
This investment in a high-growth security platform is particularly relevant for the financial sector, where the stakes for secure AI implementation are exceptionally high.
3. The "Why": AI Security as a Cornerstone for Modern Finance
As generative AI becomes deeply embedded in mission-critical workflows, AI security has rapidly shifted from a future consideration to an immediate operational priority for the financial services industry. For a bank, a threat like prompt injection is a vector that could be used to manipulate an AI agent into making an unauthorized trade or leaking sensitive client data. WitnessAI’s platform is designed to prevent precisely these scenarios, making it foundational for maintaining institutional trust and commercial viability.
From SMBC's perspective, the investment in WitnessAI is a strategic move to support a foundational layer for the future of the industry. The fund views AI security as a domain of "strategic importance and substantial societal relevance," essential for unlocking the transformative potential of next-generation financial services.
Keiji Matsunaga, General Manager of the Digital Strategy Department at SMBC, highlights the institution's commitment to responsible innovation: “AI adoption in financial services requires not only innovation but also the highest standards of security and accountability. As one of Japanʼs leading financial institutions, SMBC sees great significance in supporting WitnessAIʼs growth as it advances responsible AI implementation.”
Logan Allin, Founder & Managing Partner at Fin Capital, who is investing from the SMBC fund, reinforces the investment's strategic necessity for financial institutions navigating the shift to AI: “We believe that WitnessAI is poised to be the category leader in secure AI adoption for financial services institutions of all sizes across banks, asset and wealth managers, and insurers, all of whom are crossing the chasm and must do so with a robust bridge.”
Together, these statements articulate a clear and cohesive rationale, framing the investment as a strategic imperative for enabling the secure and compliant evolution of financial services.
4. Market Outlook: Positioning for the Agentic Era
This $58 million funding round is poised to accelerate WitnessAI’s global go-to-market strategy and fuel its product expansion. The capital infusion will help solidify the company's position as essential infrastructure for what many in the technology sector are calling the "agentic era," where autonomous AI agents perform complex tasks on behalf of human users.
Rick Caccia, co-founder and CEO of WitnessAI, articulates the company's distinct market advantage, contrasting its integrated platform against the patchwork solutions offered by legacy security vendors. “We are the only AI security vendor that can secure every AI interaction, everywhere, with a unified solution. The alternative is trying to stitch together secure workflows using network proxies, firewalls, DLP products, and XDR agents. In short, the alternative is a complex mess.”
Ultimately, SMBC's strategic entry into the U.S. CVC market, punctuated by this inaugural investment, sends a powerful message beyond its own walls. It may signal a broader trend of major Japanese and other international financial institutions seeking direct stakes in the foundational technologies that will define the next decade of finance. As the industry grapples with the promise and peril of AI, this first move by SMBC suggests its strategy will focus not just on flashy applications, but on the critical, and highly lucrative, infrastructure of trust.
Norbert Gehrke
