An Austin, Texas-based startup building AI software that works alongside human employees has landed a fresh round of funding that reportedly values the company north of a billion dollars. Future Secure AI, co-founded by Mehrdad Baghai and Michael Hunter, raised $80 million through convertible-note financing, according to citybiz.
Exactly how big the round was depends on who's counting. Startup Daily's headline puts it at US$115 million, while citybiz reports $80 million. Separately, the Australian Financial Review reports that Future Secure AI has secured more than $100 million in funding overall ahead of a planned listing on the ASX late next year, per its reporting.
Whichever number is precise, the investor list is consistent across accounts: Square Peg, Yarra Capital Management, Macquarie Asset Management and Firetrail all backed the round, according to Startup Daily's reporting. The company was founded in Sydney in 2023 and is now headquartered in Austin, according to Capital Brief, reflecting its stated push to expand internationally.
What an AI Co-Worker Actually Does
Future Secure AI describes its product as specialized AI agents built for complex enterprise workflows, with each AI Co-Worker purpose-built for a specific business role. The company's own site states that its AI Co-Workers execute complex, high-volume workflows while collaborating with a client's people and systems, and that they integrate with a company's existing enterprise technology rather than requiring a system overhaul.
The company also says its AI agents operate independently of any particular large language model provider and remain fully auditable — language the company uses to describe the systems as LLM-agnostic, secure by design, resilient, and fully auditable. Startup Daily offers a more vivid description of the mechanics, reporting that the company's technology assembles teams of AI agents, each with a name and face, overseen by a human supervisor.
Future Secure AI positions its target market as what it calls enterprise workflow complexity, or the red zone — the kind of high-stakes, judgment-heavy processes that companies have historically been reluctant to automate. Listed deployments include financial reporting, tax assessments, month-end accounting, reconciliations, regulatory reporting, accounts receivable and workforce scheduling. The company counts Macquarie Group, FIS, Healius, Orrick and Toga Group among its customers.
Leadership With Finance and Consulting Roots
Co-CEO Mehrdad Baghai previously worked as a partner at McKinsey & Company and is described as a three-time bestselling author focused on growth and collective action. Co-CEO Michael Hunter most recently worked at Macquarie Capital and has backed technology companies at different development stages, according to the seed reporting.
The funding is the company's third round, following a previous raise in June 2025, according to the same Startup Daily report. The company plans to use the new capital to support international expansion, and both Startup Daily and Capital Brief report that an ASX listing is on the agenda for late 2027, with investment banks expected to be appointed in the coming months. Capital Brief also reports that the company is targeting profitability next quarter ahead of that potential public listing.
A Crowded Field for Enterprise AI Agents
A Crowded Field for Enterprise AI Agents Future Secure AI isn't alone in chasing this market. Mountain View-headquartered Ema raised $77 million in a Series B led by Creaegis, with existing investors Accel, Section 32 and Prosus also participating, according to TechCrunch. That round brought Ema's total funding to $140 million and more than quadrupled its valuation from its 2024 round, per TechCrunch's reporting.
Ema's pitch is similar in spirit — systems that coordinate multiple AI agents to automate multi-step business processes inside a company's existing applications. TechCrunch reports Ema has more than 50 active enterprise deals, over 1 million active enterprise users, and has handled more than 5 million actions and queries, with revenue said to have grown 50-fold over two years and bookings surpassing $150 million. Ema has also said it plans to expand into new markets over the next year, particularly across Asia-Pacific, South America and parts of the Middle East — a trajectory that mirrors the international ambitions Future Secure AI has laid out for itself as it works toward its own public-market debut.
