A new cybersecurity startup founded by three serial entrepreneurs has emerged from stealth with a hefty seed round.
Command Zero Inc., which uses language learning models and automation to help security teams investigate intrusions, said July 9 it has raised a $21 million seed round led by Bay Area venture giant Andreessen Horowitz. Insight Partners and 60-plus cyber industry angel investors also got in on the round.
The startup was co-founded in 2021 by CEO Dov Yoran, Chief Technology Officer Dean De Beer and Chief Product Officer Alfred Huger. Yoran and De Beer previously co-founded New York-based malware analysis startup ThreatGRID Inc., which was acquired by Cisco in 2014 for an undisclosed amount. Huger, who appears to be based in Canada, co-founded Immunet Corp., which was acquired by Sourcefire in 2010. All three were most recently working at Cisco in senior roles.
Its platform combines investigative questions with automation and language models to expedite breach investigations, which often require extensive research and third-party teams to resolve. It also produces timelines and end-to-end reports.
"To date, conducting thorough cyber investigations has relied on individual expertise, and has been exclusive to select few advanced organizations," Yoran stated. "Command Zero removes technology expertise barriers, dramatically reduces repetitive manual work and speeds up investigations."
The young company has 28 employees across the United States and Canada. Its CEO, chief technology officer and vice president of marketing and three additional team members are based in Austin. They don't currently have an office, opting to operate remotely and use shared spaces as needed, a company spokesperson said.
Command Zero joins a growing number of venture-backed cybersecurity startups in Austin. For example, Austin security startup RunReveal said in May that it raised a $2.5 million seed round; Austin-based Ultra Intelligence and Communications landed a $31.9M agreement on behalf of Consortium for Command, Control and Communications in Cyberspace from the U.S. Air Force Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division in June; and Austin- and San Diego-based cybersecurity startup Halcyon raised $40 million in December last year.
All told, cybersecurity startups raised nearly $2.7 billion across 154 deals in the first quarter this year, according to Crunchbase. That made it one of the best sectors in tech for fundraising during that timeframe.
