Startups > Xbow

Xbow

XBOW helps enterprises test security faster using autonomous AI penetration testing.

Series C $237M total Founded 2024 Seattle, Washington 190 employees

XBOW is an AI-powered autonomous penetration testing platform that identifies and exploits vulnerabilities in web applications without human intervention. Using swarms of AI agents, it simultaneously explores multiple attack vectors, reducing testing times from weeks to hours while providing reproducible proof of exploitation. The platform is trusted by Fortune 500 companies including UKG, Samsung SDS, and Moderna, and recently ranked #1 on the HackerOne leaderboard, outperforming thousands of human hackers.

Problem solved

Security teams spend weeks on manual penetration testing while missing deeper attack paths, and struggle to validate findings without clear reproducible proof of exploitation.

Target customer

Fortune 500 enterprises, large tech companies, financial institutions, and organizations requiring continuous security validation with large security budgets.

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Founders

Oege de Moor

Founder & CEO

Creator of GitHub Copilot and founder of Semmle (acquired by GitHub as GitHub Advanced Security); previously founded GitHub Next and professor at Oxford with DPhil in Computer Science.

Mike Horton

Co-Founder

Co-founder of XBOW, founded in January 2024.

Funding history

Seed/Grant Unknown January 2024 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series B $75M June 2024 Led by Altimeter Capital · Sequoia Capital, Nat Friedman

Series C $120M March 18, 2026 Led by DFJ Growth, Northzone · Sofina, Alkeon Capital, Altimeter Capital, NFDG Ventures, Sequoia Capital

Total raised: $237M

Industries

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Network Security Computer

Pricing

Enterprise custom pricing based on credits reflecting AI workload compared to human pentester effort. XBOW Pentest On-Demand self-serve offering starts at $6,000 for results in ~5 business days. Significantly cheaper than traditional red teaming ($18,000+ per system).

Notable customers

UKG, Samsung SDS, Moderna, Fortune 500 companies, large banks, major tech firms

Integrations

Microsoft Security Copilot, Microsoft Sentinel, Vanta

Tech stack

Lightbox (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) HTTP/3 DocuSign Google Analytics (Analytics) HSTS (Security) Google Font API (Font scripts) Apple iCloud Mail (Webmail) jsDelivr (CDN) Google Hosted Libraries (CDN) Cloudflare (CDN) DoubleClick Floodlight (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Salesforce (CRM) Usercentrics (Cookies compliance)

Website

xbow.com/

Competitors

Veracode

Traditional SAST/DAST platform; lacks autonomous AI-driven exploitation and real-world attack simulation capabilities.

Synack

Crowdsourced penetration testing platform; relies on distributed human testers rather than autonomous AI agents for faster execution.

Cobalt

On-demand penetration testing marketplace; human-centric approach without continuous autonomous testing capabilities.

Why this matters: XBOW represents a paradigm shift in penetration testing by replacing sequential human testing with parallel autonomous AI agents, achieving enterprise-scale security validation at unprecedented speed and cost. Founded by Oege de Moor (creator of GitHub Copilot), backed by $237M in funding, and ranked #1 on HackerOne's global leaderboard with 1,060+ submitted vulnerabilities, XBOW is demonstrating that AI can outperform elite human security researchers in real-world scenarios.

Best for: Large enterprises and financial institutions that need continuous, fast penetration testing at scale without the overhead of traditional red team engagements.

Use cases

Continuous Security Validation for Web Applications

Security teams deploy XBOW to continuously validate vulnerabilities in production web applications, receiving real exploitation proof within hours instead of weeks. This enables rapid remediation cycles that match modern software development velocity, with every finding independently validated through actual exploitation rather than theoretical scanning.

Rapid Compliance Penetration Testing

Organizations use XBOW Pentest On-Demand to complete compliance-required penetration tests in 5 business days at a fraction of traditional red team costs. The automated approach eliminates waiting periods while maintaining reproducible proof of findings required by auditors and regulators.

Deep Attack Path Exploration

Security teams leverage XBOW's swarm of simultaneous AI agents to explore attack paths that human testers would miss due to time constraints. The platform automatically chains exploits and refines approaches based on outputs, uncovering multi-step vulnerabilities that traditional sequential testing cannot identify.

Alternatives

Veracode Choose Veracode for broader application security scanning; choose XBOW if you need autonomous exploitation and faster, deeper vulnerability discovery.

Manual Red Teaming Choose manual red teaming for highly targeted, strategic assessments; choose XBOW for continuous, faster, and more cost-effective penetration testing at scale.

Synack Choose Synack for flexible crowdsourced testing; choose XBOW for deterministic, autonomous, and faster exploitation validation without human bottlenecks.

FAQ

What does XBOW do? +

XBOW is an AI-powered autonomous penetration testing platform that uses swarms of AI agents to simultaneously explore multiple attack vectors in web applications and digital systems. It identifies vulnerabilities and validates them through real exploitation, providing reproducible proof without human intervention. Testing that traditionally takes weeks is completed in hours.

How much does XBOW cost? +

Enterprise pricing is customized based on a credits system reflecting AI workload relative to human pentester effort. XBOW Pentest On-Demand, the self-serve offering, starts at $6,000 for results in approximately 5 business days. Contact sales for enterprise custom pricing.

What are alternatives to XBOW? +

Veracode (traditional application security scanning), Synack (crowdsourced penetration testing), and Cobalt (on-demand pentest marketplace). Each takes a different approach—XBOW is unique in its autonomous AI-driven exploitation and continuous testing speed.

Who uses XBOW? +

Fortune 500 enterprises including UKG, Samsung SDS, and Moderna. The primary customers are large tech companies, financial institutions, and organizations with significant security budgets requiring continuous, fast, and scalable penetration testing.

How does XBOW compare to Veracode? +

Veracode is a traditional SAST/DAST scanner that identifies potential vulnerabilities; XBOW autonomously exploits vulnerabilities in real-time with AI agents. XBOW provides reproducible proof of exploitation and continuous testing, while Veracode is better for broader application scanning and developer integration.