Terra Safety, a pioneering startup reshaping the cybersecurity panorama with its agentic AI-powered penetration testing platform, has introduced an $8 million seed spherical led by SYN Ventures and FXP Ventures. Extra backing got here from Underscore VC and distinguished angel traders together with ex-Google CISO Gerhard Eschelbeck and Talon Safety founders Ofer Ben-Midday and Ohad Bobrov.
The corporate is already partnering with Fortune 500 purchasers and plans to make use of the capital to increase its multi-agent capabilities, develop new crimson teaming functionalities, and speed up buyer adoption.
Turning the Tables: AI for Offensive Safety
In cybersecurity, protection has traditionally taken priority, however Terra Safety is flipping the script. Its breakthrough comes from leveraging agentic AI—goal-oriented, semi-autonomous brokers that may simulate the conduct of expert hackers at scale. These brokers are usually not generic scripts. They’re fine-tuned AI “workers” assigned to constantly probe every shopper’s net surroundings, adapting in actual time to modifications in enterprise logic, code updates, and rising threats.
On the coronary heart of Terra’s platform is a multi-agent structure, the place dozens of specialised AI brokers function in parallel to uncover potential exploits. In contrast to conventional instruments that depend on hardcoded checklists, these brokers constantly scan and re-scan net functions utilizing real-world assault methods—like an adversary that by no means sleeps.
To take care of precision and scale back false positives, Terra makes use of a human-in-the-loop mannequin, guaranteeing that AI-generated findings are validated and guided by professional human testers. This synergy between machine scalability and human judgment addresses one of many largest flaws in legacy pen testing options: inconsistent accuracy and lack of context.
Steady Penetration Testing: A New Gold Commonplace
Traditionally, penetration testing has been episodic—an costly annual affair or a quarterly compliance checkbox. However as enterprise environments evolve with dizzying velocity, point-in-time assessments depart essential blind spots.
Terra’s steady penetration testing mannequin shifts safety testing from reactive to proactive. Its platform robotically launches new check situations each time vulnerabilities are detected, even after minor modifications like a brand new third-party plugin or a function replace. That’s as a result of fashionable net functions are dynamic, integrating APIs, cloud infrastructure, and evolving person flows—every a possible entry level for attackers.
The corporate’s method is particularly potent for tackling enterprise logic vulnerabilities—delicate flaws in workflows and decision-making processes that conventional scanners usually miss. By studying the distinctive context of every software and tailoring check plans accordingly, Terra delivers insights that matter, not simply noise.
“Pen testing should not be only a field you verify yearly,” stated Shahar Peled, CEO and Co-Founding father of Terra Safety. “We’re reworking it right into a steady, contextual, and strategic layer of your safety posture. Agentic AI lets us simulate actual adversaries with higher protection and consistency than ever earlier than.”
Why Terra, Why Now?
The explosion of web-based functions has made organizations extra uncovered than ever.
That is the place Terra stands out. Its brokers don’t simply search for OWASP Prime 10 vulnerabilities—additionally they determine zero-days, API exploits, and multi-step assault chains, all whereas adapting to the particular ecosystem of the enterprise. And in contrast to standard instruments that may’t pivot like an attacker, Terra’s brokers can chain exploits collectively, simulate lateral motion, and map total assault surfaces with precision.
Jay Leek, Managing Associate at SYN Ventures, described Terra as “reimagining penetration testing as we all know it at the moment, which is lengthy overdue.”
FXP Ventures, an early believer within the Terra crew, echoed this sentiment. “We backed Terra from day one due to the founders’ deep technical DNA and relentless execution,” stated FXP’s Tsahy Shapsa. “They’re not simply enhancing penetration testing—they’re redefining it with AI workers who work 24/7, guided by top-tier human experience. This isn’t man vs machine. It’s man plus machine. That’s the long run.”
Constructed for Scale, Tuned for Precision
Based in 2024, Terra Safety provides a fully-managed platform purpose-built for offensive safety, delivering market-leading accuracy, effectivity, and net assault floor protection. Every check plan is custom-tailored based mostly on the group’s threat profile, surroundings, and compliance wants. Whether or not it is an e-commerce platform going through cost fraud or a fintech app liable to API exploitation, Terra’s AI brokers adapt to their environment and evolve as threats change.
Their platform is particularly related in industries like:
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Monetary Providers – stopping account takeovers and securing advanced API workflows.
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E-commerce – decreasing threat of cost fraud and compliance failures like PCI DSS.
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Manufacturing – defending IoT-enabled environments from community intrusions.
What’s Subsequent for Terra?
Following this spherical, Terra plans to launch an agentic crimson teaming functionality, permitting organizations to run simulated assaults that transcend application-level exploits and emulate subtle, full-stack adversary conduct. It’ll additionally increase to network-level testing and broader safety assessments, creating an all-in-one AI-driven offensive safety suite.
Terra Safety provides a compelling new paradigm: one the place clever, persistent AI brokers suppose and act like hackers—with human oversight guaranteeing their actions are correct, contextually related, and significant.
Because the cyber arms race accelerates, Terra is giving defenders the primary actual offensive benefit. With this contemporary capital and an formidable roadmap, the corporate is well-positioned to make steady, clever pen testing the brand new gold normal in cybersecurity.