Hadrian raises $40M to expand AI-powered offensive security platform

Hadrian, an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity startup, has raised $40 million in a funding round co-led by Forgepoint Capital International and Smartfin. The startup plans to use the capital to expand its AI-powered offensive security platform across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States, while hiring additional engineers and researchers.

Funding and Expansion Plans

Amsterdam-based cybersecurity startup Hadrian has raised $40 million in a funding round co-led by Forgepoint Capital International and Smartfin, a Belgian venture capital firm. The round brings Hadrian’s total funding to $65 million, reflecting growing investor confidence in its AI-driven offensive security platform.

Hadrian plans to use the funds to expand its operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States. The startup will also hire additional engineers and researchers to bolster its product development and threat intelligence capabilities.

AI-Powered Offensive Security

Hadrian’s platform offers offensive security solutions designed to emulate hacker behavior, targeting vulnerabilities in a company’s systems. The platform consists of two core components: Atlas and Nova.

Atlas maps a company’s internet-exposed assets and uses AI agents to identify genuine vulnerabilities, filtering out false positives. Nova conducts automated penetration testing on demand, simulating real-world cyberattacks to assess system resilience.

According to Hadrian, its customers report detecting 10 times more critical risks, fixing vulnerabilities 80% faster, and achieving five times the return on investment compared to traditional manual testing methods.

Market Context and Challenges

Despite advancements in automated security tools, 87% of firms continue to rely on manual testing methods, according to industry data cited by Hadrian. However, only 0.47% of vulnerabilities flagged by scanning tools are actually exploitable by attackers, highlighting the inefficiency of conventional approaches.

The funding round comes amid rising concerns about the misuse of AI in cyberattacks. Anthropic, a leading AI research lab, recently released a threat intelligence report detailing how criminals and state-linked groups have used its Claude models to conduct attacks and hunt for unknown vulnerabilities. The report covered activity from December 2025 to August 2026.

Founders’ Background

Hadrian was founded in 2021 by Rogier Fischer, Olivier Beg, and Maurice Clin. Fischer and Beg began their careers as teenage ethical hackers before transitioning into entrepreneurship. Fischer later co-founded LiteBit, one of Europe’s earliest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The startup raised a €2.5 million pre-seed round in 2021, followed by a €10.5 million seed round led by HV Capital in 2022. The latest funding round includes participation from existing investors such as Motive Partners, Picus Capital, and Oetker Ventures.

Customer Base

Hadrian’s platform is used by enterprises across industries, including healthcare, media, energy, and manufacturing. Notable customers include McKesson, NBCUniversal, TotalEnergies, Amadeus, Leroy Merlin, and Damen Shipyards.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Hadrian’s funding and expansion signal a growing shift toward AI-driven cybersecurity solutions, particularly in offensive security. The startup’s claim of delivering 10x more critical risk detection and 80% faster fixes highlights the limitations of manual testing, which remains dominant despite its inefficiencies. For founders in cybersecurity, this round underscores the demand for automation in threat detection and response, especially as AI models like Anthropic’s Claude are increasingly misused by malicious actors.

The challenge for Hadrian—and its peers—will be scaling its platform while maintaining accuracy, as the gap between flagged vulnerabilities and actual threats remains narrow (0.47%). This funding could also pressure competitors to accelerate their AI roadmaps or risk falling behind in a market where speed and precision are critical.

Key takeaways

• Hadrian raised $40 million in a funding round co-led by Forgepoint Capital International and Smartfin.
• The startup’s AI-powered platform, Atlas and Nova, identifies and tests system vulnerabilities.
• Customers report 10x more critical risks detected, 80% faster fixes, and 5x the return of manual testing.
• 87% of firms still rely on manual testing, despite only 0.47% of flagged flaws being exploitable.
• Hadrian will expand into Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the U.S., hiring more engineers and researchers.

FAQ

What is Hadrian’s core product?

Hadrian’s platform consists of two AI-driven tools: Atlas and Nova. Atlas maps a company’s internet-exposed assets and identifies genuine vulnerabilities, while Nova automates penetration testing to simulate cyberattacks.

Why is AI important in offensive security?

AI enables faster and more accurate detection of vulnerabilities by automating tasks that would otherwise require manual effort. Hadrian’s customers report detecting 10x more critical risks and fixing them 80% faster than traditional methods.

What are the limitations of manual security testing?

Manual testing is time-consuming and often inefficient. Industry data suggests that only 0.47% of vulnerabilities flagged by scanning tools are actually exploitable, while 87% of firms still rely on manual methods.

How will Hadrian use its $40 million funding?

Hadrian plans to expand its operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States, while also hiring more engineers and researchers to enhance its platform.

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