Tenzai raises $75M – But Why ?

The cybersecurity landscape witnessed a watershed funding moment as Tenzai, the Tel Aviv-based autonomous penetration testing pioneer, secured $75 million in what stands as one of the largest seed rounds in cybersecurity history. Founded by Pavel Gurvich, Ariel Zeitlin, Ofri Ziv, Itamar Tal, and Aner Mazur in May 2025—five veterans who previously built Guardicore before its $600 million Akamai acquisition—this capital infusion targets something far more urgent than just improving security testing efficiency.

This raises the fundamental question: why is investor capital flowing into AI-powered penetration testing when traditional manual methods served enterprises for decades, yet Tenzai’s revolutionary platform aims to fundamentally solve what major technology companies now acknowledge—30% of newly written code comes from AI systems, enterprises deploy production updates multiple times daily, yet penetration testing remains episodic and manual—transforming continuous automated security from theoretical concept into survival necessity?

The $6.25 Billion Market Where AI-Generated Code Meets Security Crisis

The answer lies in understanding what’s happening beneath the surface of software development’s AI transformation paradox.

The global penetration testing market valued at $2.45 billion in 2024 projects explosive growth to $6.25 billion by 2033—representing 12.5% compound annual growth—yet the sector faces an unprecedented vulnerability crisis. Traditional penetration testing relies on manual security experts conducting periodic assessments, yet with 45% of AI-generated code containing OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and 86% failing to defend against cross-site scripting attacks, the industry approaches a security breaking point. Major technology companies report over 30% of newly written code now generated by AI, while enterprises deploy updates to production multiple times per day, yet penetration testing happens only periodically—leaving applications running in production without security validation while malicious actors test systems first.

From Military Intelligence to World-Record Cybersecurity Funding

Tenzai operates an AI-driven platform for penetration testing that continuously identifies and addresses software vulnerabilities. The platform automates processes traditionally requiring highly specialized and costly security experts, offering what the company calls always-on offensive security capabilities at enterprise scale.

Founded after the team’s experience building Guardicore—which Akamai acquired for $600 million in one of its largest acquisitions—Tenzai addresses the fundamental challenge where modern software development velocity outpaces security validation capacity. The $75 million seed round surpasses the previous Israeli record set earlier this year by Minimus, which raised $51 million, with backing from Greylock Partners, Battery Ventures, and Lux Capital. The founding team brings deep offensive cyber experience from military intelligence units, with Mazur previously serving as founding Chief Product Officer at Snyk. Tenzai is already piloting its platform with large organizations in financial services, healthcare, and technology industries—transforming decades of manual security testing into AI-powered continuous validation that operates at the speed enterprises now deploy code.

Why Traditional Penetration Testing’s Manual Dependency Required AI Automation

Tenzai’s $75 million funding provides context for why AI-powered platforms outweigh incremental manual testing improvements.

When software development requires security validation yet deploys code faster than humans can test, traditional processes create unsustainable security gaps. Conventional penetration testing uses specialized experts conducting episodic assessments because elite security talent remains expensive and scarce, yet enterprises now push code changes daily while AI tools generate increasing percentages of production software. The industry faces a paradox: explosive adoption of AI development tools to accelerate software delivery constrained by manual security testing that cannot keep pace with modern deployment velocity.

The funding structure reflects institutional recognition that automation determines cybersecurity’s scalability. Industry data confirms penetration testing market reaches $6.25 billion by 2033, with network penetration testing dominating at 34.3% market share in 2024. The mobile applications segment grows fastest driven by BYOD trends, while small and medium enterprises increasingly adopt penetration testing as attackers target businesses with inadequate security infrastructures—emphasizing the critical role AI-powered platforms play in democratizing elite security capabilities previously accessible only to enterprises affording expensive manual testing engagements.

Tenzai differentiates by solving both speed and scale challenges simultaneously. The platform recognizes that human penetration testers are not just expensive but fundamentally cannot test hundreds of applications changing daily, while AI systems operate continuously without fatigue. The breakthrough enabling Tenzai to automate elite offensive security comes from agentic AI that actively hacks, exploits, and identifies vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. With multiple investors already courting Tenzai for a Series A round potentially exceeding $100 million and the company targeting the $8 billion penetration testing market, Tenzai demonstrates validated technology proving AI delivers superior security economics without sacrificing the depth traditional manual assessments provide.

The Technology Architecture Behind Cybersecurity’s Automation Revolution

The funding round accelerates commercial deployment as Tenzai transitions from stealth mode to market reality addressing enterprise security at unprecedented scale.

Research testing over 100 large language models found 45% of AI-generated code samples failed security tests and introduced OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, with Java showing 72% security failure rates. Studies reveal 76% of developers now employ AI for coding, with Microsoft reporting 30% of code written by AI, while 86% of AI-generated samples failed defending against cross-site scripting and 88% proved vulnerable to log injection attacks. These statistics illuminate why Tenzai’s continuous automated testing addresses problems traditional periodic assessments cannot solve—AI-generated vulnerabilities accumulate faster than manual testers can identify them.

The funding supports Tenzai’s mission building what CEO Pavel Gurvich describes as bringing always-on offensive capabilities so organizations move fast and stay secure. The company will expand AI research and security teams, strengthen autonomous offensive features, and accelerate go-to-market strategy across North America and Europe. Tenzai plans beginning sales early 2026 while working with several leading global companies, demonstrating the platform simulates attackers proactively identifying vulnerabilities in organizational systems before exploitation occurs.

Tenzai targets specific pain points where traditional manual penetration testing cannot sustain modern development velocity. Conventional processes require enterprises scheduling expensive security consultants weeks in advance, accepting that applications run untested between periodic assessments, and managing that elite security talent costs prohibit continuous testing—dependencies the industry cannot sustain as software deployment accelerates toward continuous delivery requiring security validation matching development speed rather than constraining it through bottlenecks preventing rapid iteration.

Why This Matters For Cybersecurity Innovation

Tenzai’s $75 million funding positions the platform within broader 2025 cybersecurity dynamics where AI-powered automation demonstrates strategic advantages justifying record-breaking seed investments.

Security Speed Transformation: Development velocity represents critical competitive advantages where manual testing dependency creates vulnerability windows between assessments and deployment speed, yet AI-powered continuous testing enables real-time security validation. Research shows 68% of developers now spend more time resolving security vulnerabilities than before using AI-generated code, while automated penetration testing reducing cycle times by 70% creates measurable value helping enterprises deploy secure software at speed traditional approaches prevent. Asheem Chandna, Partner at Greylock Partners, emphasized AI-generated code creates new cybersecurity risks and challenges for enterprises, positioning Tenzai’s mission building the industry’s leading agentic AI penetration testing platform addressing problems manual methods cannot solve at scale.

Talent Scarcity Accelerating: With manual penetration testing requiring specialized experts commanding premium compensation yet remaining perpetually scarce, the industry faces talent constraints limiting security precisely when AI-generated code demands exponentially more testing. Tenzai targets the $8 billion penetration testing market with continuous software-based defense replacing periodic manual assessments. The company’s focus on building elite nation-grade offensive capabilities through AI democratizes security testing previously accessible only to organizations affording expensive consultants, while Gurvich’s acknowledgement that talented professionals in this field cost significantly makes clear traditional scaling approaches cannot meet market demands.

Market Validation Momentum: The team previously co-founded Guardicore with Ziv and Tal as founding members before Akamai’s $600 million acquisition in 2021, one of Akamai’s largest acquisitions to date. The proven track record combined with selective investor targeting—choosing funds understanding cybersecurity deeply and having worked with the team previously—demonstrates Tenzai’s comprehensive approach positioning it solving problems traditional security vendors acknowledged too late. The funding enabling hiring top talent, accelerating product development, and covering high AI R&D costs reflects confidence that continuous automated penetration testing represents cybersecurity’s necessary evolution as software development fundamentally transforms through AI adoption.

The Answer: AI-Powered Security Meets Industry Imperative

So why $75 million for Tenzai’s autonomous penetration testing platform?

Because the platform combines elements investors value: founders with deep offensive cybersecurity expertise and proven acquisition track record identifying software security’s looming AI-generated code crisis before it constrains industry trust, technology solving both speed and scale challenges traditional manual approaches cannot address, validated pilot deployments with leading enterprises in financial services and healthcare proving effectiveness, and strategic timing where AI development tool adoption creates security gaps requiring automated continuous testing if enterprises plan to deploy AI-generated code at scale supporting digital transformation imperatives without introducing vulnerability accumulation outpacing remediation capacity.

The investment validates that cybersecurity winners emerge through automation innovation rather than incremental manual testing improvements using unsustainable talent dependencies. With Tenzai achieving record seed funding, securing backing from top-tier cybersecurity-focused investors including Greylock Partners and Battery Ventures, building on the team’s $600 million Guardicore exit demonstrating enterprise cybersecurity execution capability, and receiving investor interest for Series A rounds potentially exceeding $100 million before commercial launch, the company’s comprehensive approach positions it solving a problem traditional security vendors acknowledged too late—manual testing limitations constraining the very AI-powered software development humanity needs most urgently.