Xbow raises $120M to automate cybersecurity in the age of AI-generated code

What's the deal? Xbow, a two-year-old startup that uses AI to find security vulnerabilities in applications, has raised $120 million in a Series C round at a valuation above $1 billion. The round was led by DFJ Growth and Northzone, with Sequoia Capital among returning backers. The company trains AI models on the techniques of human hackers to automate penetration testing and red-teaming.

Why now? The rise of AI coding tools is producing applications faster than ever — but with more security flaws baked in. Xbow chief executive officer Oege de MoorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, former head of GitHub's Copilot, argues that AI models generate insecure code by default because they were trained on poorly secured public source code.

At the same time, malicious actors are using AI to scale their own attacks. De Moor warns of "swarms of malicious attacks" ahead, making automated defensive tools an urgent priority for enterprises.

What could go wrong? Xbow is operating in an increasingly crowded field. OpenAI recently acquired PromptfooDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a company focused on finding and fixing security flaws in AI models, while both OpenAI and AnthropicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → have launched AI agents targeting similar use cases.

At 150 employees and with ambitions to reach several hundred by year-end, rapid hiring at a two-year-old company carries its own execution risks. With more than 100 customers signed so far, the pressure to scale revenue to match its valuation will be significant.

The signal: Xbow's raise reflects a broader bet that AI-powered offensive security — using AI to attack systems before bad actors do — is becoming essential infrastructure. As AI coding tools go mainstream, the attack surface is expanding faster than human security teams can keep up.

The company's traction in South Korea, where businesses face persistent nation-state threats, also points to a growing market beyond traditional enterprise security buyers. Governments and critical industries are increasingly looking for automated tools that can match the speed and scale of AI-enabled adversaries.

Sources:
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J.V.