When Deepfakes Steal $30M: The New Edge of Cybercrime

Episode notes

AI is transforming both sides of the cybersecurity cat-and-mouse game. Attackers are using LLMs to scale impersonation, phishing, and even deepfake fraud - while defenders are racing to automate detection and takedowns at the same speed. In this episode, a16z partner Joel de la Garza talks with Kevin Tian, cofounder & CEO of Doppel Security (and former Uber engineer), about building in this new landscape. They cover: Why outsider founders sometimes build the most effective security companies The “3 V’s” framework for today’s social engineering attacks: volume, velocity, variety How Doppel uses reasoning models and reinforcement fine-tuning to cut false positives and improve precision Simulation tools like “vibe phishing” to train employees on real attacker tactics The shift from manual cyber-intelligence services to AI-driven, software-margin businesses Why the biggest bottleneck now isn’t model cost - but engineering time to deliver the right context If you’re building security products or exploring how AI can automate tough edge cases, this is a ground-level look at what’s working - and what comes next.

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