Empirical Security, a Chicago-based cybersecurity intelligence company, announced on July 17, 2025, that it has raised $12 million in seed funding to advance its AI-driven vulnerability management platform. Led by Costanoa Ventures and supported by DNX Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, HPA, and notable industry investors, the funding will fuel the development of custom AI models designed to enhance data-driven security decisions. Founded by former Kenna Security leaders, Empirical Security leverages a dual-model architecture to deliver precise threat prioritization tailored to each organization’s unique infrastructure.
Empirical Security raises $12M in seed funding for AI cybersecurity platform.
Funding led by Costanoa Ventures with DNX Ventures, others participating.
Custom AI models prioritize threats based on unique organizational data.
Dual-model architecture combines global and local threat intelligence.
Led by ex-Kenna Security founders, including CEO Ed Bellis.
Aims to transform vulnerability management with evidence-based risk analysis.
Empirical Security’s $12 million seed round, announced on July 17, 2025, marks a significant milestone for the Chicago-based startup founded in 2024. The funding, led by Costanoa Ventures and backed by DNX Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, HPA, and strategic investors like Jonathan Cran, Wade Baker, and Gerhard Eschelbeck, will support the expansion of its AI-driven cybersecurity platform. The investment underscores the growing demand for tailored, data-driven solutions in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Unlike traditional cybersecurity approaches that rely on generic, global models, Empirical Security builds custom “local models” tailored to an organization’s unique data, systems, and technical stack. “Today’s cyber attacks are custom-built using AI and your own infrastructure against you,” said Michael Roytman, Co-founder and CTO of Empirical Security. “Defending with generic, one-size-fits-all models is a start, but only custom, localized models - trained on your data and environment - can close that gap.” These local models enable more accurate predictions, helping security teams focus on the most critical threats.
Empirical Security’s platform employs a dual-model architecture, combining global and local AI models. Global models, trained on nearly 2 million daily exploitation events from internet-scale datasets, detect and anticipate emerging attacks. Local models adapt this intelligence to each customer’s specific infrastructure, operations, and threat profile. This approach delivers precise, measurable predictions, empowering Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to make evidence-based decisions and justify cybersecurity strategies with clear risk analysis.
The company is led by a seasoned team, including CEO Ed Bellis, Co-founder and CTO Michael Roytman, and Co-founder and Chief Data Scientist Jay Jacobs, all former Kenna Security pioneers. “We backed Ed, Michael, and Jay at Kenna, where they pioneered the risk-based vulnerability management movement,” said John Cowgill, General Partner at Costanoa Ventures. “With Empirical, they’re doing it again—but replacing generic risk scores with local AI models that tailor scores to each enterprise. We’re thrilled to partner with them on what we believe is a 10x bigger opportunity to transform how security teams prioritize and act on risk.” Their expertise positions Empirical Security to redefine vulnerability management.
Empirical Security’s $12 million seed funding and innovative AI-driven platform signal a shift toward personalized cybersecurity solutions. By leveraging custom AI models and a dual-model architecture, the company empowers organizations to prioritize threats with precision, enhancing security in an era of AI-driven attacks. As cyber threats evolve, Empirical Security’s data-centric approach positions it as a leader in transforming how enterprises manage vulnerabilities and make informed security decisions.
Empirical Security is a cybersecurity intelligence company specializing in building AI and machine learning models that empower data-driven security decisions. Their state-of-the-art models are designed for rapid fine-tuning in each customer deployment, leveraging curated, AI-mined, and customer-provided data. This approach delivers localized models offering advanced decision support tailored to each organization's environment, risk threshold, and specific needs.
Founded in 2012, Costanoa Ventures partners with builders as early as company formation, with a focus on apps and infrastructure in data, dev, security and fintech. Costanoa is a long-term, boutique partner to entrepreneurs from the earliest stages of company building with expertise from its BuilderOps team.
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