Safety Tech Market Value Exceeded $1 Billion in 2025, Demonstrating Significant Growth Since 2024
Today, Paladin Capital Group, a leading multi-stage investor in advanced cyber and AI technologies, released its third annual "International State of Safety Tech Report," which found that in 2025 alone, industry growth exceeded all prior years and raised more than $1 billion in funding. The 2025 report commissioned by Paladin Capital Group and completed by PUBLIC with the support of Perspective Economics and leading cyberpsychologist and Paladin's Chief Scientist Safety Tech, Dr. Mary Aiken finds that the safety tech industry is rapidly growing in scale, expanding in scope, and becoming increasingly relevant across both the digital and physical worlds.
The first of their kind, these reports identify and analyze the providers of Safety Tech products the technologies and solutions creating safer and more secure human-technology interaction to increase awareness of the industry and support its growth. Whereas cybersecurity relates to protecting data, systems, and networks, Safety Tech protects the people who use technology something that's becoming increasingly important as AI use accelerates.
"As the boundaries between the cyber and physical world blur and the risks to humanity quickly evolve, it's encouraging to see the Safety Tech industry match this moment and mature with the same speed and adaptability," said Dr. Mary Aiken, Paladin Chief Scientist Safety Tech and Member of its Strategic Advisory Group (SAG). "This is a defining moment for the industry. Technology has become more immersive, autonomous, and rooted in our daily lives than ever before, and it is essential that we make sure safety and trust is embedded into every tech interaction humans have."
The evolution of Safety Tech is reflective of how digital products are changing, namely with the proliferation of Agentic AI systems that operate with little to no human oversight. These systems can both shadow employee workflows or act on people's behalf. Safety Tech is helping respond to this rise in automation by providing technical solutions for safer deployment of agentic systems.
This year's report builds on prior reports, continuing to examine how this new and evolving industry is quickly expanding its customer base, technological scope, and market relevance. Drawing on expert interviews, research, and both quantitative and qualitative analysis, the report's findings highlight several key takeaways about the Safety Tech sector, including:
- Safety Tech has moved beyond promoting online safety alone. The industry was previously defined as, "technologies or solutions that facilitate safer online experiences and protect users from harmful content, contact, or conduct." But with the rise of dark AI threats created by autonomous, non-human agents operating beyond human control Safety Tech is now about more than creating safer online experiences. It's about addressing risks in immersive, autonomous, and physical environments, where digital and offline worlds converge. As a result, AI Safety, Security, and Assurance has emerged as the single largest investment category in the Safety Tech industry.
- 2025 is expected to exceed 2024 in fundraising, with $1.1 billion invested in the sector, compared to $792 million the previous year. AI Safety, Security and Assurance has emerged as the single largest investment opportunity for VCs, driving more than $927 million towards Safety Tech solutions that focus on generative AI risks, model security and alignment, as well as opportunities to build safer models with appropriate guardrails.
- The Safety Tech sector grew to847 Safety Tech providers worldwide in 2025. According to the report, dedicated firms now make up 76% of the market (up from 68% in 2023). This indicates a shift towards specialization in Safety Tech as a core offering.
- Employment in Safety Tech now exceeds 40,000 roles globally. While like-for-like growth among existing firms has been steady (+2% since 2024), expansion into areas such as digital identity, fraud, and AI Safety has brought new jobs and skills into the ecosystem.
- 2025 was the enforcement era of online safety. Regulators are moving from voluntary codes to binding laws, fines, and service restrictions, with age assurance emerging as a particularly central compliance requirement. In many regions, such as the UK, EU, Australia, and over 20 U.S. states, age assurance is mandatory by law a shift that has left a significant impact on the Safety Tech industry. In large part due to these laws, Identity and Age Assurance has become the third largest investment category in the Safety Tech sector.
- This regulatory pressure is accelerating the shift from human-led moderation to AI-enabled moderation and risk detection. 2025 saw 27.8 million content removals, most of which were automated and enforcement-driven.
- Agentic AI, digital identity, cyber fraud protection solutions, and cyber-physical safety systems are the four technological frontiers set to shape Safety Tech's trajectory. These areas suggest a broadening of Safety Tech's remit from online harms to risks across both digital and physical environments.
"Our research reveals that as the nature of human-to-technology interactions have changed -- and with that the threat vectors and harm types that impact those interactions so has the Safety Tech market," said Ryan Shea, Managing Director at PUBLIC. "Evolving against a complex global regulatory landscape, this market continues to grow and mature in exciting ways."
"The rise of AI comes with immense benefits and risks, and the countries leading its development have a duty to ground the technology in safety and security," said Chris Inglis, Paladin's SAG member and former U.S. National Cyber Director. "Investing in Safety Tech tools that integrate into people's online and offline experiences could not be more vital."
"Sustaining the growth of the Safety Tech sector depends on close cross-border collaboration and interoperability," said Chris Steed, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Paladin Capital Group. "The investor community has a unique opportunity to advance Safety Tech and mold it into a global industry that encourages innovation, yields strong investment returns, and keeps people everywhere safe."
About Paladin Capital Group
Paladin Capital Group was founded in 2001 and has offices in Washington DC, New York, London, Luxembourg, and Silicon Valley. As a multi-stage, dual-use investor, Paladin's core strength is identifying, supporting, and investing in innovative companies that develop promising, early-stage technologies to address the critical cyber, defense, and advanced technology needs of both commercial and government customers.
Combining proven investment experience with deep expertise in global security, cyber technology, and cutting-edge research, Paladin has invested in more than 80 companies since 2008 and has been a trusted partner to investors, entrepreneurs, and governments for over two decades.
For more on Paladin Capital Group, follow us on Twitter at @Paladincap and on LinkedIn or visit us at www.paladincapgroup.com.
About PUBLIC
PUBLIC is a digital transformation partner committed to helping the public sector turn innovative ideas into practical solutions. Combining expertise around government policy, delivery, and technology, PUBLIC aims to build a public sector that is powered by new technologies and innovative ways of working, achieving better outcomes for citizens. As one of Europe's leading advisory firms with a specialism in online safety, PUBLIC works closely with clients across central government, regulator bodies and industry to build safer online spaces, protect users and grow a responsible digital economy.
For more on PUBLIC, follow us on Twitter at @PUBLIC_Team and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/public.io/ or visit us at https://www.public.io/.
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