Startups > NetSPI

NetSPI

NetSPI helps enterprises identify and remediate critical security vulnerabilities through AI-powered penetration testing.

Private Equity $500M total Founded 2001 Minneapolis, Minnesota 382 employees

NetSPI is the pioneer of Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS), combining AI-driven speed with 350+ in-house pentesters to deliver continuous attack surface management, expert-validated vulnerability findings, and streamlined remediation workflows. The platform serves Fortune 500 companies, including 9 of the top 10 U.S. banks, 4 of the top 5 cloud providers, and 4 of the top 5 healthcare companies. NetSPI differentiates through its 20+ year history, proprietary Resolve™ orchestration platform, and integrated approach spanning penetration testing, attack surface management, and breach simulation.

Problem solved

Organizations lack continuous visibility into their evolving attack surface and struggle to prioritize remediation efforts between automated vulnerability scanning and expensive manual penetration testing.

Target customer

Enterprise and Fortune 500 companies in financial services, cloud providers, healthcare, and retail sectors with complex external attack surfaces and regulatory compliance requirements.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase Twitter / X

Founders

Deke George

Founder & Chairman

Computer forensics expert with deep experience in information security across financial, government, healthcare, utility, education, and retail sectors.

Seth Peter

Co-Founder

Computer forensics expert and co-founder who helped establish NetSPI's security expertise across multiple verticals.

Funding history

Series A Undisclosed April 2017 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series B $90M May 2021 Led by KKR · Ten Eleven Ventures

Growth Equity $410M October 2022 Led by KKR · Unknown

Accelerator Undisclosed December 2024 Led by AWS ISV Accelerate Program · Unknown

Total raised: $500M

Industries

Cyber Security Computer Information Technology Network Security Service Industry

Pricing

Functional-based pricing model (not hour-based) with remediation testing included. Delivered via PTaaS model through the Resolve™ platform. Enterprise custom pricing available.

Notable customers

9 of top 10 U.S. banks, 4 of top 5 cloud providers, 4 of top 5 healthcare companies, 3 FAANG companies, 7 of top 10 U.S. retailers. Named customers: Medtronic, Mission Fed Credit Union, Gong, Trimble, EAB Global, Quantum Health.

Integrations

Asset managers, IAM platforms, vulnerability management tools, Verinext partnership for technology transformation services

Tech stack

Lightbox (JavaScript libraries) Select2 (JavaScript libraries) jQuery Migrate (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) animate.css (UI frameworks) Bootstrap (UI frameworks) YouTube (Video players) MySQL (Databases) Google Maps (Maps) Drift (Live chat) WordPress (Blogs) Typekit (Font scripts) Google Font API (Font scripts) Font Awesome (Font scripts) Nginx (Web servers) WP Rocket (Caching) PHP (Programming languages) Microsoft 365 (Email) Pardot (Marketing automation) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Salesforce (CRM) Yoast SEO (SEO) Amazon Web Services (PaaS) WP Engine (PaaS) DigiCert (SSL/TLS certificate authorities) ProfilePress (WordPress plugins)

Website

netspi.com/

Competitors

AttackIQ

Focuses more broadly on breach and attack simulation; less comprehensive in integrated penetration testing services.

Seemplicity

Emphasizes vulnerability management and remediation workflows; lacks dedicated penetration testing as core service.

PortSwigger

Specializes in web application security testing; narrower scope than NetSPI's multi-domain testing capabilities.

Optiv Security

Larger traditional managed security services provider; less specialized in attack surface management and PTaaS delivery.

Why this matters: NetSPI is the category pioneer in Penetration Testing as a Service with $500M in funding, $128.5M revenue (2023), and deep penetration into the most security-critical enterprise segments (top banks, cloud providers, healthcare). The company's 20+ year track record, recent leadership additions (CMO, interim CPO), and strategic focus on attack surface management position it as a category leader in proactive security.

Best for: Enterprise organizations that need continuous, expert-validated penetration testing with real-time visibility into their attack surface and streamlined remediation prioritization.

Use cases

Continuous External Attack Surface Management

Financial institutions use NetSPI's ASM to maintain continuous discovery and testing of evolving external assets across global infrastructure. The platform automatically identifies shadow IT, forgotten cloud instances, and exposed third-party integrations that traditional scanning misses, enabling security teams to focus manual pentesting on the highest-risk exposures.

Remediation Prioritization and Orchestration

Healthcare enterprises leverage the Resolve™ platform to orchestrate testing results and remediation workflows, ensuring critical vulnerabilities are addressed before the next testing cycle. This functional-based pricing model eliminates per-hour testing costs and enables "always-on" continuous testing without budget constraints.

Multi-Domain Security Assessment

Large technology companies use NetSPI's integrated services (application, network, cloud, mainframe, SaaS security) to validate security posture across heterogeneous infrastructure. The combination of AI-driven automation and 350+ expert pentesters reduces false positives while catching complex, multi-layer vulnerabilities that automated tools alone cannot identify.

Alternatives

Rapid7 Broader vulnerability management platform with less emphasis on human-led penetration testing and attack surface discovery.

Acunetix Focuses primarily on automated web application scanning; lacks the integrated PTaaS and ASM capabilities of NetSPI.

Qualys Established vulnerability management platform emphasizing broad scanning coverage; less specialized in attack surface management and expert-led penetration testing.

FAQ

What does NetSPI do? +

NetSPI combines AI-driven automation with 350+ expert pentesters to deliver penetration testing as a service, attack surface management, and breach and attack simulation. The platform provides continuous discovery and testing of external attack surfaces, identifies real-time security vulnerabilities with low false positives, and streamlines remediation prioritization through the Resolve™ orchestration platform.

How much does NetSPI cost? +

NetSPI uses a functional-based pricing model (not hourly) with remediation testing included in the service. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed; enterprise customers should contact sales for custom pricing based on scope, asset count, and testing frequency.

What are alternatives to NetSPI? +

Alternatives include AttackIQ (broader breach simulation focus), Seemplicity (vulnerability remediation emphasis), PortSwigger (web application security), Optiv Security (traditional managed security), and established platforms like Rapid7, Acunetix, and Qualys that prioritize scanning breadth over expert-led penetration testing.

Who uses NetSPI? +

Enterprise and Fortune 500 organizations, including 9 of the top 10 U.S. banks, 4 of the top 5 cloud providers, 4 of the top 5 healthcare companies, and 7 of the top 10 U.S. retailers. Notable customers include Medtronic, Gong, Trimble, and Mission Fed Credit Union.

How does NetSPI compare to Optiv Security? +

NetSPI specializes in penetration testing as a service with integrated attack surface management and AI-powered automation, while Optiv is a broader managed security services provider. NetSPI's functional-based pricing and continuous testing model differ from Optiv's traditional hourly engagement approach, making NetSPI more suitable for organizations needing always-on attack surface visibility.

What makes NetSPI different from other penetration testing providers? +

NetSPI pioneered the PTaaS model 20+ years ago and differentiates through its combination of 350+ in-house expert pentesters, AI-driven automation for speed and scale, proprietary Resolve™ platform for orchestration, and integrated ASM and BAS capabilities. The functional-based pricing model and emphasis on low false positives with expert validation sets it apart from automated-only competitors.