In professional basketball, the best offence is a great defence — and now, the same principle applies off the court. Doppel, the AI-native Social Engineering Defence (SED) platform, has been named an Official Partner of the New York Knicks in a landmark deal with Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. It marks Doppel's first-ever collaboration with a global sports franchise — and puts one of the most forward-thinking cybersecurity platforms on one of sport's most iconic stages.
A Full-Circle Moment: The Partnership Explained
The partnership between Doppel and the New York Knicks carries a story behind it. Kevin Tian, CEO and Co-Founder of Doppel, has revealed that the concept for the company was conceived on a basketball court — making the partnership with one of the NBA's most storied franchises feel deeply personal.
Under the agreement, Doppel's brand will be prominently featured at Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden (MSG), including through in-arena contests and GardenVision features throughout the regular season. The company's presence will extend beyond the arena itself — appearing on exterior digital signage boards in one of New York's busiest entertainment districts, reaching thousands of daily passers-by. A dedicated content series on Knicks social media channels will further integrate Doppel into the franchise's digital ecosystem.
"My co-founder Rahul and I came up with the concept of Doppel on a basketball court, so partnering with the New York Knicks feels like a full-circle moment. In basketball, defence determines outcomes in the highest-pressure moments — and in social engineering defence, the same is true."— Kevin Tian, CEO & Co-Founder, Doppel
What Is Doppel? The AI-Native SED Platform Explained
Founded in 2022 and built from the ground up on agentic AI, Doppel is designed to protect organisations, executives, and employees from the growing wave of AI-powered social engineering threats — including phishing, impersonation, deepfake fraud, and digital brand attacks. Rather than simply flagging threats, Doppel actively dismantles attacker infrastructure in real time.
Its Digital Risk Protection solution operates across the following core capabilities:
- →Multi-channel threat detection — continuously monitoring for social engineering attacks across all major digital surfaces
- →Real-time threat graph — linking individual alerts together to expose the broader malicious infrastructure behind coordinated attacks
- →AI-driven infrastructure disruption — proactively taking down attacker infrastructure before threats reach their targets
- →Human Risk Management — phishing simulation campaigns and next-generation security awareness training that builds employee resilience through realistic threat simulation
Current enterprise customers include Fortune 500 companies such as Meta and Coinbase, financial services firms including Ark Invest, and Hollywood talent agencies — all relying on Doppel to prevent executive impersonation and reduce social engineering exposure across their organisations.
MSG Sports Perspective: Welcoming Doppel to the Knicks Family
From Madison Square Garden Sports Corp's perspective, the addition of Doppel extends a growing portfolio of technology and innovation partners — joining the franchise's existing relationships spanning entertainment, retail, and consumer technology sectors.
"We welcome Doppel to the Knicks family. Bringing them on board as a valued partner unlocks new ways to connect and engage with fans and deliver value across our platforms, both inside and outside of the arena."— Doug Jossem, Executive Vice President Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships, MSG Entertainment
Doppel's Momentum: Fortune Cyber 60 & $35M Series B
The Knicks partnership comes at a period of significant momentum for Doppel. The company recently completed a $35 million Series B financing round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from a16z, 9Yards Capital, SOZO Ventures, Strategic Cyber Ventures, South Park Commons, and Script Capital. The funds are being deployed to expand Doppel's digital protection infrastructure, combining generative AI capabilities with expert manual analysis.
Doppel was also named to the 2026 Fortune Cyber 60 list — presented by Lightspeed Venture Partners — as one of the 20 Early Growth Stage Companies to watch in cybersecurity. The list is compiled from an analysis of more than 500 cybersecurity startups, evaluated on annual recurring revenue, year-over-year growth, and operational data. The company also received the AI-Based Cybersecurity Innovation of the Year award and has expanded into the EMEA market, with new leadership and offices in San Francisco and New York.
"The Knicks operate in one of the most visible, high-stakes environments in sports — and that is exactly where our technology is built to perform. This partnership puts our mission to protect the world from social engineering attacks on one of the biggest stages in the world."— Kevin Tian, CEO & Co-Founder, Doppel