Amsterdam-based Hadrian Security has raised 36 million euros and plans to use the funds to expand internationally. The startup uses AI agents to identify vulnerabilities that attackers can actually exploit.
Hadrian previously raised 10 million euros, led at the time by HV Capital, which is also participating in this round. The total raised now stands at 58 million euros. The company has ambitious goals, aiming to achieve nine-figure revenue in the long term. The funds will be used to fuel growth in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States. The engineering and research teams will also be expanded.
Atlas and Nova
Hadrian’s platform consists of two products. Atlas continuously maps an organization’s external attack surface. Specialized agents then verify whether any identified vulnerabilities are actually exploitable. Nova also performs on-demand penetration tests. Because both share context, a team can immediately have Nova investigate anything flagged as suspicious in Atlas in greater depth. Hadrian claims that no other vendor combines this “continuous exposure management” and “agentic penetration testing” on a single platform.
According to Hadrian, 87 percent of organizations still rely on manual penetration tests. Only 0.47 percent of the findings from vulnerability scanners turn out to be actually exploitable. Damen Shipyards, a Dutch client, previously relied on periodic assessments. Hadrian now provides the shipbuilder with “continuous insight into what an attacker can actually see and potentially exploit,” according to CISO Hans Quivooij.
AI on both sides
It is now widely assumed that attackers use AI, allowing attack signatures to be fully automated and zero-days to be readily available for LLMs. CEO Rogier Fischer sees AI as the very solution to those threats. Yet, he says, most people focus on “automating the wrong parts.” Hadrian claims it was already working with LLMs before they became mainstream following the rise of ChatGPT. Since then, it has released a variety of security innovations, many of which incorporate AI assistance. For example, last year it launched Subwiz, an AI tool that searches for hidden subdomains.