Banks are no longer fighting only human fraudsters but automated systems capable of mimicking customers, manipulating advisors, and bypassing authentication protocols. Confronted with this new generation of attacks—driven by voice cloning, deepfakes, and algorithmic deception—another form of intelligence has taken over: that of the defenders.
Madrid-based startup Acoru embodies this shift. Its platform no longer aims to block fraud once it occurs but to detect criminal intent before any transaction is initiated. The company combines machine learning and behavioral analysis to identify weak signals such as suspicious micro-transactions, unusual interaction patterns, or repetitive automation indicative of AI-driven fraud.
This approach emerges in a rapidly changing regulatory context. New European directives (PS23/4, PSD3) now require banks to share responsibility for reimbursing fraud victims. This structural shift is pushing institutions toward predictive and collaborative models. Acoru offers a collective approach through the Acoru Consortium, a shared network where financial institutions exchange real-time account risk classifications.
According to its founders, this interbank cooperation helps “create a truly collective defense.” The model differs from traditional transaction-centric tools by focusing on intent detection. In an environment where identity-based scams are multiplying, this capacity to anticipate risk is becoming a strategic differentiator.
Acoru’s emergence reflects a broader movement across Europe. Since early 2025, several funding rounds have underscored the rise of RegTech and financial crime prevention technologies: Hawk (Germany) with €51.8 million, Trustfull (Italy) with €6 million, and Resistant AI (Czechia) with €21 million. All share a common goal—to build a shared intelligence layer among institutions to counter AI-driven fraud.
Founded in 2023 in Madrid by Pablo de la Riva Ferrezuelo and David Morán, Acoru raised €10 million in Series A funding from 33N Ventures, Adara Ventures, and Athos Capital. The company now employs around 30 people and works with several European banking institutions. Its objective is to accelerate the deployment of its pre-fraud detection technology at a time when global banking fraud losses are estimated to reach nearly $500 billion per year.
