Cybersecurity firm Terra Security raises $8m to scale agentic AI platform
Terra Security, a cyber start-up specialising in AI-driven penetration testing, has raised $8m in seed funding to accelerate development of its agentic AI platform.
The round was led by SYN Ventures and FXP Ventures, with additional backing from Underscore VC and several notable angel investors. These include former Google CISO Gerhard Eschelbeck, Talon Security founders Ofer Ben-Noon and Ohad Bobrov, and security experts Travis McPeak and Itamar Friedman.
Terra Security has developed a service-as-software platform that delivers continuous, agentic AI-based penetration testing. The company’s technology is designed to replicate the thinking of white-hat hackers by deploying dozens of AI agents customised to a client’s specific environment and risk profile. The system adapts in real time and integrates human experts in the loop to maintain high accuracy and reliability.
The fresh capital will be used to enhance the capabilities of Terra’s AI agents, further develop its platform, and grow its customer base, which already includes several Fortune 500 clients. The firm also plans to extend its offering to include AI-driven red teaming and broader network security coverage.
While traditional penetration testing methods remain slow, resource-intensive, and difficult to scale, Terra Security aims to overcome these limitations by merging AI scalability with human-like adversarial behaviour. Its platform enables clients to continuously test for vulnerabilities rather than relying on infrequent manual exercises.
Terra Security CEO and co-founder Shahar Peled said, “In the grand scheme of cybersecurity, ethical hacking has long been underutilised due to its inefficiencies and human dependencies, but we now have the opportunity to bring ethical hacking centre stage and beat adversaries at their own arena. 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.”
SYN Ventures managing partner and founder Jay Leek said, “We are thrilled to partner with Terra Security as it works to enable all organisations to leverage high-quality offensive security on a continuous basis, at scale. We believe the Company’s vision reimagines penetration testing as we know it today, which is long overdue.”
FXP co-founder and managing partner Tsahy Shapsa added, “Cyber threats move fast and manual pen testing can’t keep up. 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.”
