The problem
Companies shipping AI agents and models can't see or stop prompt injection, tool misuse or poisoned open-source models
What they do
Security platform that discovers, scans and protects enterprise AI models and agents at runtime
Traction ARR up 10x+ in a year to 'tens of millions'; 50+ new platform customers; DoD and frontier-lab clients
Hiring trend
- Open roles
- 18
- Ops roles
- 2
- Headcount
- ~150-180
Flat: ~150 staff Q1 2026, -2.4% YoY and ~144-152 since late 2024 (Revelio); LinkedIn ~179 (+10% YoY); 16 open roles now, mostly sales, after Sep 2026 raise
Hiring in
- Portland
- Knoxville
- Remote (US)
- Remote (UK)
Latest news
Sep 2026
Raised $100M Series B led by Delta-v Capital to expand agent runtime security and EMEA ↗Glassdoor
3.5 ★ 2 reviews ↗Funding
- Last round
- $100M
- Stage
- Series B
- Date
- Sep 2026
Led by Delta-v Capital (lead); Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, M12, Booz Allen Ventures
- Hiring+1.518 open roles on the live job board (10–29 roles = +1.5)
- Funding recency+2Series B · $100M, Sep 2026 (1 month ago): 6 months or less = +1.5, $100M+ round +0.5
- Traction+1.5Strong growth: ARR up 10x+ in a year to 'tens of millions'; 50+ new platform customers; DoD and frontier-lab clients
- Red flags−11 significant flag in the last 24 months, −1 eachLeadership churn (-1): CRO seat turned over twice in 18 months (Abigail Maines left Feb 2025; Chelsea Strong hired Jul 2025; Mike Gesnaldo hired Aug 2026). Minor, not scored: headcount flat ~150 since late 2024 despite claimed 10x ARR growth; patent-assertion suit by Congruent Media Resourcing (W.D. Tex., Jun 2026, pending). Only 2 Glassdoor reviews (one, Mar 2025, says exec leadership lacks direction).HiddenLayer: Chelsea Strong named CRO (Jul 2025) ↗ · HiddenLayer: Mike Gesnaldo named CRO (Aug 2026) ↗ · Cyber GTM Talk: Abigail Maines, former HiddenLayer CRO (Jan 2026) ↗ · Revelio Labs: HiddenLayer headcount ~150, -2.4% YoY (Mar 2026) ↗ · Justia: Congruent Media Resourcing v. HiddenLayer, 7:26-cv-00229 (Jun 2026) ↗ · Glassdoor: HiddenLayer reviews ↗
- Total4.01.5 + 2 + 1.5 − 1 = 4.0 → Tempo (3.5–4.24)
Distance (10K) is a separate read on how long the lead can last. It doesn't change the score.
Distance
10K · edge: hard to leave
One of the last independent AI-security pure plays with real ARR momentum, but Palo Alto (Protect AI), Cisco (Robust Intelligence), Check Point (Lakera) and SentinelOne (Prompt Security) now bundle the same protection into suites the same CISOs already buy.
Sources: Forrester: Securing AI's M&A feeding frenzy (Sep 2025) ↗ · TechCrunch: HiddenLayer $100M Series B, ARR 10x (Sep 2026) ↗
Watch-outs
Leadership churn (-1): CRO seat turned over twice in 18 months (Abigail Maines left Feb 2025; Chelsea Strong hired Jul 2025; Mike Gesnaldo hired Aug 2026). Minor, not scored: headcount flat ~150 since late 2024 despite claimed 10x ARR growth; patent-assertion suit by Congruent Media Resourcing (W.D. Tex., Jun 2026, pending). Only 2 Glassdoor reviews (one, Mar 2025, says exec leadership lacks direction).
Sources: HiddenLayer: Chelsea Strong named CRO (Jul 2025) ↗ · HiddenLayer: Mike Gesnaldo named CRO (Aug 2026) ↗ · Cyber GTM Talk: Abigail Maines, former HiddenLayer CRO (Jan 2026) ↗ · Revelio Labs: HiddenLayer headcount ~150, -2.4% YoY (Mar 2026) ↗ · Justia: Congruent Media Resourcing v. HiddenLayer, 7:26-cv-00229 (Jun 2026) ↗ · Glassdoor: HiddenLayer reviews ↗
Last checked Oct 25, 2026