As bad actors weaponize AI to exploit software vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed, companies are increasingly recognizing the need to bolster their cybersecurity defenses. Fortunately, those very AI tools are also helping businesses fight back. The need for such capabilities has helped Exaforce, an AI startup that detects and thwarts attacks in real time, secure a $125 million Series B. The round valued the three-year-old startup at $725 million, and saw participation from HarbourVest, Peak XV, Mayfield, Khosla Ventures, and Seligman Ventures. The massive funding round comes just a year after Exaforce raised a $75 million Series A, bringing its total funding to $200 million. The influx of capital underscores both the high cost of building and selling an AI-enabled security operations center (SOC), and the massive market opportunity investors see in the space. Exaforce says it uses AI agents, called “Exabots,” with deep data analysis to automate security operations, taking the heavy lifting off of human analysts. For the startup’s co-founder and CEO Ankur Singla, the mission is straightforward: Apply AI to catch and stop …