Bala Cynwyd-based Guardinex, an artificial intelligence fraud prevention startup founded by Aravind Immaneni, a former head of global operations and fraud prevention at Citi, secured $5 million for its Series A, writes Kennedy Rose for The Business Journals.

Immaneni founded the company three years ago but kept it dormant until he left Citi last year.

Guardinex offers a cloud-based platform that connects to client applications and uses AI and behavior models that predict fraudster tactics to identify fraud risk in real-time. It can be used both on a small scale, such as looking at newly opened accounts individually and on a larger scale, by continuously analyzing a portfolio to identify fraudulent behavior.

The funding round was led by Philadelphia-based LL Funds. The funding puts the company’s valuation at $25 million.

The service Guardinex provides is certainly needed, as identity fraud losses totaled $56 billion and affected 49 million consumers in the form of fees.

“One way or the other, these costs are affecting all of us, and definitely those who are impacted more directly, and we’re trying to solve it and make financial institutions and personal information safer for everybody,” said Immaneni. “That’s our mission.”

Read more about Guardinex in The Business Journals.