Terra Security Raises $8 Million for AI-Powered Penetration Testing Platform

Terra Security raises $8 million for AI-based white hacker

This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Already serving multiple clients, including Fortune 500 companies, Terra will use the funds to advance its platform, expand its AI agents' capabilities, and grow its customer base. In sports, there's a saying that the "best defense is a great offense," and in cybersecurity, this sentiment also holds weight. Yet, most organizations struggle to conduct continuous penetration testing or red teaming - vital simulations that uncover vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Despite their promising potential, these ethical hacking mechanisms are vastly underutilized due to their human-intensive nature, which makes them slow, expensive, and unscalable. Designed to think like a white hat hacker, Terra's agentic AI platform conducts continuous web application pen testing. Powered by dozens of fine-tuned AI agents, each tailored to a client's unique environment, Terra's agents adapt in real time based on unique business contexts and risks. When new vulnerabilities surface, its agents autonomously launch precise tests, guided by human experts through a human-in-the-loop mechanism for maximum accuracy and reliability with AI. While existing automated solutions fall short of mimicking an adversary's behavior at scale, particularly for web applications, Terra's AI-enabled service brings the combination of the accuracy and depth of skilled human testers with the scale and efficiency of automated solutions. As Terra grows, it plans to introduce an agentic AI red teaming solution to its platform as well as expand to cover organizations' entire network security. "In the grand scheme of cybersecurity, ethical hacking has long been underutilized due to its inefficiencies and human dependencies, but we now have the opportunity to bring ethical hacking center stage and beat adversaries at their own arena," says Shahar Peled, CEO and Co-Founder of Terra. "We strongly believe that our platform will transform the narrative around pen testing and ethical hacking by infusing accuracy, efficiency, business context, and continuous pen-testing via agentic AI. No longer will pen-testing simply be viewed as an item on a compliance checklist, but as the most effective security capability of a robust security posture. We are grateful for all the support and guidance we've received from our investors, partners, and customers, and look forward to the journey ahead." "We are thrilled to partner with Terra Security as it works to enable all organizations to leverage high-quality offensive security on a continuous basis, at scale," says Jay Leek, Managing Partner and Founder at SYN Ventures. "We believe the Company's vision reimagines penetration testing as we know it today, which is long overdue." "Cyber threats move fast and manual pen testing can't keep up," says Tsahy Shapsa, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at FXP. We backed Terra Security from day one because of its founders - an exceptional team with the rare mix of deep technical chops and relentless execution. Together, we validated the problem and approach through over 100 customer interactions to arrive at our conviction. They're not just improving penetration testing; they're redefining it with AI employees who work 24/7, guided by top-tier human expertise. It's not man vs machine. It's man plus machine. That's the future."

Terra Security raises $7.5M in Seed round for its agentic AI pen testing solution

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter Backed by FXP Ventures and SYN Ventures, Terra introduces the first agentic AI pen testing platform with human supervision, while its multi-agent approach leverages dozens of dedicated fine-tuned AI agents to conduct continuous, deep testing at scale NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terra Security, an Agentic AI-native penetration testing service-as-software platform, raises $7.5M in a seed round led by SYN Ventures and FXP Ventures with participation from Underscore VC and notable angel investors including former Google CISO Gerhard Eschelback and Ofer Ben-Noon and Ohad Bobrov, founders of Talon Security. Already serving multiple clients, including Fortune 500 companies, Terra will use the funds to advance its platform, expand its AI agents' capabilities, and grow its customer base. In sports, there's a saying that the "best defense is a great offense," and in cybersecurity, this sentiment also holds weight. Yet, most organizations struggle to conduct continuous penetration testing or red teaming - vital simulations that uncover vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Despite their promising potential, these ethical hacking mechanisms are vastly underutilized due to their human-intensive nature, which makes them slow, expensive, and unscalable. Designed to think like a white hat hacker, Terra's agentic AI platform conducts continuous web application pen testing. Powered by dozens of fine-tuned AI agents, each tailored to a client's unique environment, Terra's agents adapt in real time based on unique business contexts and risks. When new vulnerabilities surface, its agents autonomously launch precise tests, guided by human experts through a human-in-the-loop mechanism for maximum accuracy and reliability with AI. While existing automated solutions fall short of mimicking an adversary's behavior at scale, particularly for web applications, Terra's AI-enabled service brings the combination of the accuracy and depth of skilled human testers with the scale and efficiency of automated solutions. As Terra grows, it plans to introduce an agentic AI red teaming solution to its platform as well as expand to cover organizations' entire network security. "In the grand scheme of cybersecurity, ethical hacking has long been underutilized due to its inefficiencies and human dependencies, but we now have the opportunity to bring ethical hacking center stage and beat adversaries at their own arena," says Shahar Peled, CEO and Co-Founder of Terra. "We strongly believe that our platform will transform the narrative around pen testing and ethical hacking by infusing accuracy, efficiency, business context, and continuous pen-testing via agentic AI. No longer will pen-testing simply be viewed as an item on a compliance checklist, but as the most effective security capability of a robust security posture. We are grateful for all the support and guidance we've received from our investors, partners, and customers, and look forward to the journey ahead." "We are thrilled to partner with Terra Security as it works to enable all organizations to leverage high-quality offensive security on a continuous basis, at scale," says Jay Leek, Managing Partner and Founder at SYN Ventures. "We believe the Company's vision reimagines penetration testing as we know it today, which is long overdue." "Cyber threats move fast and manual pen testing can't keep up," says Tsahy Shapsa, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at FXP. We backed Terra Security from day one because of its founders - an exceptional team with the rare mix of deep technical chops and relentless execution. Together, we validated the problem and approach through over 100 customer interactions to arrive at our conviction. They're not just improving penetration testing; they're redefining it with AI employees who work 24/7, guided by top-tier human expertise. It's not man vs machine. It's man plus machine. That's the future." About Terra Security Founded in 2024, Terra offers an agentic-AI platform for continuous web application penetration testing. Enhanced by a human-in-the-loop mechanism, Terra's dedicated, fine-tuned AI agents perform thousands of best-of-breed tests with unparalleled efficiency, accuracy and robust attack surface coverage. Through tailor-made attacks based on unique business context and risk profiles, Terra is revolutionizing the way enterprises build and run their pentest program. For more information, visit: https://www.terra.security/ Media Contact Inbar Kneller ReBlonde for Terra Security [email protected] Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Terra. 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Terra security raises $8m. for AI-powered pen testing tool

These attacks are indiscriminate, targeting individuals, organizations, businesses, and even entire nations. Although it's not even six months into the new year, the world has already witnessed a wave of cybersecurity breaches. These incidents have compromised significant amounts of sensitive data, including passwords, IP addresses, and unique device identifiers, affecting millions of individuals globally. While many might assume they are immune to threats, no one is entirely safe in today's online world. These attacks are indiscriminate, targeting individuals, organizations, businesses, and even entire nations. Israel, for example, was identified as the second most targeted country for cyberattacks in 2024. The country faced a surge in cyber threats, primarily targeting its government systems and defense networks, encompassing data breaches, ransomware, and coordinated attempts to disrupt essential services, highlighting the need for proactive defense strategies. Despite the valuable insights they offer, penetration testing and red teaming -- simulation exercises designed to identify vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them -- are often not leveraged to their full potential. Barriers to use include reliance on skilled human experts due to the high sensitivity of such tasks, which makes the process more time-consuming, costly, and difficult to scale. When an offensive test is conducted, companies often follow a fixed checklist that targets a specific set of familiar issues. If the system passes those checks, it's typically considered secure, at least on paper. However, this approach rarely delves deeper to uncover system-specific weaknesses, often overlooking vulnerabilities that fall outside the scope of the checklist. Terra Security coming out with AI In response to the growing need for more advanced cybersecurity measures, Terra Security is coming out of stealth with its AI-native, agentic penetration testing platform that leverages AI agents to perform continuous penetration testing at scale - a task hardly achievable when done manually. Thanks to recent developments in generative AI, Terra was able to develop an agentic AI solution that mimics the thought patterns of ethical hackers. As a pioneer in this space, Terra is the first company to emerge from stealth with these capabilities, specifically for penetration testing. To enhance its platform, the company recently raised $8 million in a seed round by SYN Ventures, marking the first investment of its seed fund in an Israeli startup, and FXP Ventures, with additional participation by Underscore VC. This round was also supported by notable angel investors, including Google CISO Gerhard Eschelbeck, Ofer Ben-Noon, and Ohad Bobrov. Enhanced by a human-in-the-loop mechanism that keeps the AI agents in check, Terra's platform combines the accuracy and depth of skilled human testers with the scale and efficiency of automated solutions. The company's AI agents are tailored to each client's unique environment, adapting and adjusting in real-time based on various business contexts and risks. Founded less than a year ago by two security veterans, Terra will use the funds raised to further advance Terra's platform by expanding its AI agents' capabilities and scaling its customer reach. The company has already onboarded multiple clients, including Fortune 500 companies. Advertisement By combining AI that has been specifically designed for offensive technology with a team of experts, Terra delivers a forward-thinking approach to security. As the security landscape continues to evolve, leveraging AI-driven tools can help advance offensive security measures, streamline processes, and deliver trusted, consistent results. Sign up for the Business & Innovation Newsletter >>