Kiteworks announced that it has acquired Bonfy.AI, an AI data security company focused on real-time classification and policy enforcement for sensitive information. The transaction is estimated at tens of millions of dollars, although the companies did not disclose the exact value. The acquisition extends the Kiteworks Data Control Plane to govern data exchanges made by people, machines, and autonomous agents.
Addressing the Data in Motion Gap
Enterprises have invested for years in data discovery and posture management, building detailed inventories of sensitive information stored across systems. Kiteworks says this approach leaves a structural gap because risk is created when data moves, not when it sits. Bonfy.AI technology shifts classification and policy enforcement to the point of exchange, where a send, share, or response is about to occur.
How Runtime Classification Works
The acquired platform examines contextual signals such as the sender, recipient, counterparty relationship, channel, and business purpose of an exchange. It then applies policy before the transfer completes, producing an inline decision rather than an alert after the fact. This context-aware analysis is designed to reduce the false positive burden that has limited traditional prevention tools.
Coverage Across Human and AI Workflows
Kiteworks plans to use the technology to enforce a single policy model that applies equally to a person sending an attachment and an AI agent retrieving, generating, or transmitting data. The capability covers email, file sharing, SaaS applications, data repositories, internet-facing AI assistants, and autonomous agents. As AI systems increasingly act on behalf of employees, the combined platform aims to close the governance gap that emerges when machines handle confidential information.
Compliance and Enterprise Reach
Every classification and enforcement action can be captured as auditable evidence, helping organizations demonstrate control under regulations including CMMC 2.0, HIPAA, and GDPR. Kiteworks states that its products protect more than 100 million end users across thousands of enterprises and government agencies. The company will continue to offer Bonfy.AI as a separate solution while it is integrated into the Kiteworks platform.
Founders and Strategic Background
Bonfy.AI was founded in early 2024 by cybersecurity entrepreneurs Gidi Cohen and Danny Kibel and emerged from stealth in June 2025 with $9.5 million in seed funding led by TLV Partners with participation from Saban Capital Group. Cohen previously founded Skybox Security, which was acquired by private equity for $375 million in 2018. Kibel previously led identity management company Idaptive and later headed global research and development at CyberArk.
Executive Perspectives
Amit Toren, Chief Business Officer at Kiteworks, said the acquisition expands customer control in the AI era and accelerates development of a unified Data Control Plane. Tim Freestone, Chief Strategy Officer, said inline runtime classification completes the promise of staying in control of private data everywhere it moves and is used. Gidi Cohen, CEO and founder of Bonfy.AI, said Kiteworks provides the reach needed to govern data for people and AI agents at global scale.
The acquisition highlights a broader shift in enterprise security from passive data inventory toward active governance at the moment of exchange. By embedding runtime classification into its Data Control Plane, Kiteworks is positioning the data layer as the durable control point across human and autonomous workflows. For organizations facing rising AI adoption and stricter compliance demands, the deal represents an effort to make every exchange a governed and provable decision.