HiddenLayer in the News
See how our research, leadership, and innovations are shaping the global conversation on AI security.
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HiddenLayer Raises $100M Series B to Advance Trustworthy AI
HiddenLayer raises $100M in Series B funding to advance AI security, expand agentic runtime protection, and meet growing enterprise demand.
The investment comes as enterprises race to secure a rapidly expanding AI attack surface, from foundation models to the autonomous agents now writing and shipping code on their behalf.
September 2, 2026 – Austin, TX – HiddenLayer, the leading AI security company that secures agentic, generative, and predictive AI applications, today announced a $100 million Series B funding round led by Delta-v Capital, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and Booz Allen Ventures.
The company will use the funding to deepen its enterprise platform, including its Agentic Runtime Security capabilities, and Agent Harness Security, a new solution that extends the Runtime Security module to secure AI coding agents at runtime and protect enterprises adopting autonomous coding agents into their stack.
"We set out to pioneer trusted, secure use of AI for enterprises, long before most organizations saw the urgency we do today. This funding lets us keep growing the purpose-built team and platform required to meet that moment as agentic AI becomes core to how enterprises operate,” said Chris Sestito, CEO and Co-Founder of HiddenLayer.
The raise follows a standout year: HiddenLayer's annual recurring revenue grew more than 10x, and the company signed more than 50 new platform customers, including some of the largest names in securities brokerage, banking, insurance, accounting, government, technology, IT services, pharmaceuticals, airlines, and the US defense and intelligence communities. Internationally, new customers included one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, along with several premium automotive brands and food and beverage providers. HiddenLayer also supports a leading frontier model provider in securing more than 700 million weekly users.
This growth is underpinned by a world-class research team that has directly influenced how leading organizations protect their AI systems. HiddenLayer's researchers hold 39 granted patents and 65 pending patents spanning adversarial detection, model protection, and AI threat analysis. The team developed the first comprehensive Adversarial Prompt Engineering (APE) Taxonomy and continues to research emerging threats across generative, predictive, and agentic AI, identifying dozens of vulnerabilities across the AI ecosystem, from foundation models to the tools and infrastructure that support them. HiddenLayer's researchers also contribute to the broader AI security community through work with organizations and initiatives including CISA/JCDC, MITRE, NIST, OWASP, and OpenSSF, improving red teaming methodologies and informing global discussions on AI governance and safety.
"Traditional security tools were built for code and infrastructure, not for models that can be poisoned, hijacked, or manipulated through their own inputs,” said Dan Williams, Partner at Delta-v Capital. "HiddenLayer built a platform from the ground up to secure AI across its full lifecycle, from the model at its core to the agentic systems being layered on top and whatever architecture comes next. We’ve watched this team turn deep adversarial-AI research into a product CISOs actually rely on, and we're proud to partner with them."
The funding allows HiddenLayer to focus on the three fronts where enterprises are most exposed: Agentic Runtime Security, giving organizations visibility into how their AI agents behave in production, flagging and stopping manipulation, tool misuse, and unauthorized actions as they happen, and securing Agentic Harnesses and Autonomous Coding Agents that write, review, and ship code with much less human oversight than traditional development tools. As AI cannot be made trustworthy through design-time principles alone, there is no trustworthy AI without end-to-end AI-native security. Trust has to be continuously tested and proven at runtime. These capabilities are designed to give enterprises the confidence to trust their AI, with 96% of organizations already considering AI critical to their core operations, but nearly a third unable to say with certainty whether they've experienced an AI-related breach, according to HiddenLayer’s 2026 AI Threat Landscape Report.
“Enterprises don't shift budgets at this pace unless a problem is urgent. HiddenLayer's growth over the past year across defense, financial services, and some of the most sensitive AI deployments in the world demonstrates that security teams have concluded that AI needs its own category of protection,” said Mark Hatfield, Co-Founder and Partner at Ten Eleven Ventures. “We expect that conviction to continue to grow as autonomous systems become more and more integral to the enterprise."
“HiddenLayer was early to recognize that enterprise security is critical to the safe deployment of AI, and its buildout of an end-to-end platform to enable compliant AI adoption is an important contribution to addressing this market need,” said Zheng Wang, Head of Strategic Investments at Morgan Stanley. “We are delighted to be investing in HiddenLayer to foster its next phase of growth and innovation.”
HiddenLayer is also strengthening its leadership team, recently naming Mike Gesnaldo as Chief Revenue Officer. More hires are on the way as the company deepens its channel relationships, keeps pace with enterprise customer demand, and pushes further into international markets, beginning with Europe and the wider EMEA region.
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer secures agentic, generative, and predictive AI applications across the entire AI lifecycle, from discovery and AI supply chain security to attack simulation and runtime protection. Backed by patented technology and industry-leading adversarial AI research, our platform is purpose-built to defend AI systems against evolving threats. HiddenLayer protects intellectual property, helps ensure regulatory compliance, and enables organizations to safely adopt and scale AI with confidence.
About Delta-v Capital
Delta-v Capital (“Delta-v”) partners with visionary leaders of technology companies to accelerate their next phase of growth. Delta-v is a sector-focused investor with expertise in infrastructure software, cloud services, vertical software, and digital infrastructure. The firm provides flexible growth capital to support organic growth, strategic acquisitions, and shareholder liquidity, partnering with management teams and existing investors as companies scale. Delta-v currently manages over $1.6B in assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors. For more information, please visit www.deltavcapital.com or follow Delta-v Capital on LinkedIn.
Contact
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com
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HiddenLayer is a proud participant in the Microsoft Security Copilot Partner Private Preview
Today announced its participation in the Microsoft Security Copilot Partner Private Preview. HiddenLayer was selected based on their proven experience with Microsoft Security technologies, willingness to explore and provide feedback on cutting edge functionality, and close relationship with Microsoft.
AUSTIN, Texas - January 9, 2024 - HiddenLayer today announced its participation in the Microsoft Security Copilot Partner Private Preview. HiddenLayer was selected based on their proven experience with Microsoft Security technologies, willingness to explore and provide feedback on cutting edge functionality, and close relationship with Microsoft.
“AI is one of the defining technologies of our time and has the potential to drive meaningful, step-change progress in cybersecurity,” said Ann Johnson, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Business Development. “Security is a team sport, and we are pleased to work alongside our Security Copilot partner ecosystem to deliver customers solutions that enhance cyber defenses and make the promise of AI real.”
HiddenLayer is working with Microsoft product teams to help shape Security Copilot product development in several ways, including validation and refinement of new and upcoming scenarios, providing feedback on product development and operations to be incorporated into future product releases, and validation and feedback of APIs to assist with Security Copilot extensibility.
“Microsoft has long been a champion of cybersecurity and AI, and HiddenLayer shares a common commitment to securing AI and machine learning models through the application of traditional cybersecurity techniques,” said Abigail Maines, Chief Revenue Officer, HiddenLayer. “Our participation in the Security Copilot’s capabilities will bolster the protection of enterprises’ most important technology, and give us the opportunity to influence and shape product development throughout the space.”
Security Copilot is the first AI-powered security product that enables security professionals to respond to threats quickly, process signals at machine speed, and assess risk exposure in minutes. It combines an advanced large language model (LLM) with a security-specific model that is informed by Microsoft's unique global threat intelligence and more than 65 trillion daily signals.
About HiddenLayer:
HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.
For additional information:
David Sack
SutherlandGold for HiddenLayer
hiddenlayer@sutherlandgold.com
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HiddenLayer Partners with CVE Program as a Numbering Authority to Secure AI
The leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, proudly announces its partnership with the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA), reinforcing our commitment to enhancing AI system security.
Underscoring commitment to elevating Security for AI standards
AUSTIN, Texas — Dec 19, 2023 — HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, proudly announces its partnership with the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA), reinforcing our commitment to enhancing AI system security.
HiddenLayer joins over 300 organizations across 37 countries, authorized by the CVE Program to assign CVE IDs to vulnerabilities within their specific scopes, enabling the efficient collaboration of multiple parties to address known AI security risks.
Each CNA has a specific Scope of responsibility for vulnerability identification and publishing. HiddenLayer is now authorized to assign CVEs to new zero-day vulnerabilities in both third-party software that does not fall under the scope of another CNA, and within their own products. This enables HiddenLayer in its mission to help protect the world’s most valuable technology, Artificial Intelligence.
“Being acknowledged as a CNA underscores HiddenLayer’s dedication and responsibility towards enhancing security for AI,” said Tom Bonner, VP of Research of HiddenLayer. “With the recent proliferation of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it is imperative that organizations have a complete awareness of the risks posed by insecure libraries, applications, and services. By researching and reporting vulnerabilities in critical ML and AI systems, HiddenLayer is underlining our commitment to help advance the security posture for the entire industry.”
The CVE Program, sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), aims to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The CVE Program is community-driven and is steered by an international board of industry, academic, and government representatives.
HiddenLayer offers a comprehensive suite of products through its AISec Platform to safeguard AI models from adversarial attacks, vulnerabilities, and malicious code injections. In addition, HiddenLayer collaborates with clients, providing consulting services leveraging deep domain expertise in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, reverse engineering, and threat research.
HiddenLayer’s Adversarial Machine Learning (AdvML) experts empower cybersecurity teams and data scientists with knowledge, insight, and tools to integrate security into the MLOps Pipeline, understand the latest adversarial AI tactics and countermeasures, map the current AI threat landscape, develop high-impact attack scenarios, validate AI environments, and implement operational security controls that satisfy both data science and security teams’ needs.
About the CVE Program
The mission of the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program is to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. There is one CVE Record for each vulnerability in the catalog. The vulnerabilities are discovered then assigned and published by organizations from around the world that have partnered with the CVE Program. Partners publish CVE Records to communicate consistent descriptions of vulnerabilities. Information technology and cybersecurity professionals use CVE Records to ensure they are discussing the same issue, and to coordinate their efforts to prioritize and address the vulnerabilities.
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey security for AI that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.
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HiddenLayer Attains SOC 2 Type II Compliance: Elevating Data Security for AI
HiddenLayer is proud to announce the achievement of Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) Type II compliance. This milestone underscores our commitment to upholding rigorous standards in security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, aligning with our core mission to secure Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning across enterprise and the public sector.
HiddenLayer is proud to announce the achievement of Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) Type II compliance. This milestone underscores our commitment to upholding rigorous standards in security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy, aligning with our core mission to secure Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning across enterprise and the public sector.
This accomplishment, shortly following our Series A funding, emphasizes our dedication to safeguarding our customer’s data from the outset through robust operational practices.
Understanding SOC 2
SOC 2 is an industry standard set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a trusted framework for customers and third-party auditors to evaluate a service organization's information management systems' security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
HiddenLayer, alongside its Machine Learning Detection & Response platform, has successfully met SOC 2 standards, validating the design and operational effectiveness of our controls in security, availability, and confidentiality.
SOC 2 compliance is more than a milestone. It resonates with our customers, partners, and investors. It enhances our ability to form partnerships with organizations prioritizing data security and strengthens our capacity to continue to protect organizations from adversarial AI attacks.
What’s Next?
HiddenLayer remains committed to surpassing industry standards. We will continue implementing best practices to prioritize sensitive information protection across our data, systems, and confidentiality processes.
In essence, SOC 2 compliance signifies HiddenLayer's dedication to setting the benchmark for Data Security for AI, reinforcing the trust our stakeholders place in us.
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HiddenLayer Awarded Phase 2 SBIR Contract by the U.S. Department of Defense
The leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract in the amount of $1.25 million focused on implementing their Machine Learning Security (MLSec) Platform to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
Machine learning security platform will secure government AI systems
AUSTIN, Texas — Oct. 24, 2023 — HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Direct-to-Phase II contract in the amount of $1.25 million focused on implementing their Machine Learning Security (MLSec) Platform to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.
The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on September 22, 2023, HiddenLayer will deploy their innovative security solution to further strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
"HiddenLayer is honored to continue our partnership with the US Air Force through our second SBIR contract award. This partnership brings our cutting-edge threat detection capabilities to specific Air Force scenarios in operation and will ensure that our military’s use of next-generation technology is secure. Everyone at HiddenLayer is committed to ensuring our government's AI is secure today and always," said Chris Sestito, CEO and co-founder of HiddenLayer.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey AI security that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.
About Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Sole organization leading the planning and execution of U.S. Air Force & U.S. Space Force science & technology programs. Orchestrates a world-wide government, industry & academia coalition in the discovery, development & delivery of a wide range of revolutionary technology. Provides leading-edge warfighting capabilities keeping air, space and cyberspace forces the world's best. Employs 10,800 military, civilian and contractor personnel at 17 research sites executing an annual $4B budget. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
The innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. Employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4B budget. Since 2019, has executed 4,671 contracts worth more than $2B to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com.
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HiddenLayer Appoints Malcolm Harkins as Chief Security and Trust Officer
The leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, has welcomed Malcolm Harkins as its Chief Security and Trust Officer. He is responsible for enabling business growth through trusted infrastructure, systems, and peer outreach to evangelize best practices for mitigating AI risk
Harkins brings more than two decades of experience in risk management and security
AUSTIN, Texas — Oct. 17, 2023 — HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, has welcomed Malcolm Harkins as its Chief Security and Trust Officer. He is responsible for enabling business growth through trusted infrastructure, systems, and peer outreach to evangelize best practices for mitigating AI risk.
Harkins brings more than two decades of experience in information security leadership roles at top technology companies, including Intel, Cymatic, Cylance, and others. Earlier this year, he was named the Top Chief Security and Trust Officer by Cyber Defense Magazine. He is also an independent board member and advisor to several organizations, including TrustMAPP, Cyvatar, and the Cyber Risk Alliance.
“Malcolm is one of the most innovative security leaders in the industry, and I’ve seen first-hand why he’s the right person for this job,” said Chris Sestito, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at HiddenLayer. “Malcolm’s passion for security and his track record with the public sector will help advance HiddenLayer’s mission to protect enterprise and our nation’s most critical AI systems.”
Harkins has testified before the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He is a Fellow with the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a non-partisan think tank providing cybersecurity expertise to the House of Representatives, Senate, and various federal agencies. Earlier this year, Harkins served on a task force led by the Center for Strategic International Studies to provide direction and leadership for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s evolving mission to protect the federal government.
“The recent revolution of AI innovation can be a great advancement for society, but only if we ensure those systems are secured,” said Harkins. “HiddenLayer’s approach to protecting AI systems is crucial to enabling them. Helping organizations detect suspicious activity and prevent attacks on AI assets allows them to fully harness this powerful technology.”
Harkins has written multiple books on risk management, information security, and IT and earned awards from the RSA Conference, ISC2, Computerworld, and the Security Advisor Alliance. He previously taught at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and Susquehanna University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California at Irvine and an MBA in finance and accounting from the University of California at Davis.
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey AI security that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.
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HiddenLayer Raises $50M in Series A Funding to Safeguard AI
The leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, has raised $50 million in Series A funding to expand its talent base, increase go-to-market efforts, and further invest in its award-winning Machine Learning Security (MLSec) Platform. The investment marks the largest Series A funding raised by a cybersecurity company focused on protecting AI this year, and was led by M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund, and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Ten Eleven Ventures.
New funding round led by M12 and Moore Strategic Ventures will accelerate company growth as demand for solutions to secure AI continues to increase globally
AUSTIN, Texas — Sept. 19, 2023 — HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, has raised $50 million in Series A funding to expand its talent base, increase go-to-market efforts, and further invest in its award-winning Machine Learning Security (MLSec) Platform. The investment marks the largest Series A funding raised by a cybersecurity company focused on protecting AI this year, and was led by M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund, and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Ten Eleven Ventures.
HiddenLayer consistently demonstrated growth and market leadership since it emerged from stealth in July 2022. The company added to its industry recognition by initiating partnerships with Intel and Databricks, as well as earning accolades such as Most Innovative Startup at RSAC and Most Promising Early-Stage Startup by SC Media. The company nearly quadrupled its headcount over the past year and plans to add 40 more experts to its staff by the end of the year. The company defends Fortune 100 companies’ AI models across several verticals, including finance, government and defense, and cybersecurity.
“AI's unparalleled rate of adoption fuels us to move even faster in achieving our mission to give every organization the right tools and expertise to leverage AI securely,” said Chris Sestito, CEO and Co-Founder at HiddenLayer. "We know almost every enterprise in the world is already using AI in multiple forms today, but we also know that no other technology has achieved such widespread adoption without security protections in place. We're committed to creating the most frictionless security solutions on the market to satisfy this unmet need."
Research from Forrester commissioned by HiddenLayer, shows an overwhelming 96% of organizations find machine learning (ML) to be important or critical to business operations, but, concerningly, the majority of respondents rely on manual processes to address ML model threats. In response, 80% of respondents want to invest in a solution that manages ML model integrity and security in the next 12 months.
HiddenLayer’s MLSec Platform consists of a suite of products that provide comprehensive security for AI to protect ML models against adversarial attacks, vulnerabilities, and malicious code injections. Each product deployed within MLSec has been designed with unique strengths and capabilities for detection and response, culminating in a multifaceted defensive approach.
HiddenLayer’s flagship Machine Learning Detection and Response (MLDR) product provides a noninvasive, software-based approach to monitoring the inputs and outputs of AI algorithms. MLDR offers real-time defense to an otherwise unprotected asset and flexible response options, including alerting, isolation, profiling, and misleading.
“Inspired by their own experience with an adversarial AI attack, HiddenLayer’s founders built an essential platform for any enterprise working with AI and ML,” said Todd Graham, Managing Partner at M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund. “Their first-hand knowledge of these attacks, combined with their vision and novel approach, position the company as the go-to solution to protect these models. From the moment we met the founders, we knew this was a big idea in security and wanted to help them scale.”
“As AI continues to proliferate society, Booz Allen is on the front lines of developing and supplying solutions to governments and enterprise that are secure. This is paramount to protecting national security, extending economic power, and enabling companies in competitive markets,” said Travis Bales, Managing Director at Booz Allen Ventures. “HiddenLayer’s powerful platform and expert team has proven effective in securing AI from a broad range of threats, so we quickly identified them as a partner that can support and protect our AI deployments. From our early discussions, it was clear to us that the HiddenLayer team has the vision and execution to continue developing security for the emerging AI market.”
About HiddenLayer
HiddenLayer, a Gartner-recognized AI Application Security company, helps enterprises safeguard the machine learning models behind their most important products with a comprehensive security platform. Only HiddenLayer offers turnkey AI security that does not add unnecessary complexity to models and does not require access to raw data and algorithms. Founded in March of 2022 by experienced security and ML professionals, HiddenLayer is based in Austin, Texas. For additional information, including product updates and the latest research reports, visit www.hiddenlayer.com.
About Moore Strategic Ventures
Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC is the privately held investment company of Louis M. Bacon, Founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management, LP.
About Ten Eleven Ventures
Ten Eleven Ventures is the original cybersecurity-focused, global, stage agnostic investment firm. The firm finds, invests, and helps grow top cybersecurity companies addressing critical digital security needs, tapping its team, network, and experience to help build successful businesses. Since its founding, Ten Eleven Ventures has raised over $US 1 billion and made over 45 cybersecurity investments across stages worldwide, including KnowBe4, Darktrace, Axis Security, Twistlock, Verodin, Cylance, and Ping Identity. For more information, please visit www.1011vc.com.
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