Latest news with #BainCapitalVentures
Axios
a day ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: AI threat-hunting startup Nebulock raises $8.5M
A new startup offering an AI-enabled threat-hunting platform is emerging from stealth today with backing from Bain Capital Ventures, the company first shared with Axios. Why it matters: Cyber defenders are in a race against malicious hackers to embrace AI tools before automated attacks become the norm. Some of the biggest advancements for defenders are coming from startups that have the flexibility to build new technologies from scratch, rather than retrofitting AI capabilities into existing products. Driving the news: Nebulock emerged from stealth today with $8.5 million in funding, including a fresh $6 million seed round led by Bain. Zoom in: Nebulock offers an autonomous threat-hunting platform that actively scans and responds to malicious activity on a company's system. The product — which uses both machine learning algorithms and AI agents to study telemetry data — can be plugged into the existing security stack, including CrowdStrike, Okta and Splunk, via an API to detect endpoint, identity and cloud security threats. While in stealth, Nebulock tested its products with a variety of customers across health tech companies, banks and VC-backed technology firms, Damien Lewke, the startup's founder and CEO, told Axios. The big picture: 90% of companies say they're not ready for AI-powered cyber threats, and cyber threat hunters are inundated with alerts about potential malicious activity across their companies' environments. Defenders have been eager for AI-enabled tools that can not only help them sort through those notifications but also automatically respond to significant threats. "Our vision is to have Nebulock be that teammate that tips the balance of power back in the hands of network defenders," Lewke said. Reality check: Cybersecurity has long been a crowded market, and automated threat response is no different. But Lewke told Axios that customers' awareness of the problem has been high. What's next: Lewke said the startup will use the new funds to hire more engineers and sales and marketing employees and also to build out the platform to expand the types of threats it can detect.
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Nebulock Launches to Redefine Threat Hunting with AI-Powered Detection Capabilities
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- N ebulock, the AI-driven threat hunting platform transforming endpoint security, today announced it has raised $8.5 million in funding, including $6 million in seed funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. Additional participation came from Decibel, In-Q-Tel, Zetta Venture Partners, Step Function and Aviso Ventures, as well as angel investors. The new capital will fuel the expansion of Nebulock's autonomous threat hunting capabilities, enhance its cross-telemetry correlation engine, and scale its engineering and go-to-market teams. Nebulock was created to solve a glaring problem: organizations outside the Fortune 100 lack the resources and skills for proactive threat hunting. Threat hunting workflows take weeks to execute, and detection engineers today often spend more time triaging alerts or rewriting brittle detection logic than creating new threat hypotheses. Nebulock flips that model — giving threat hunters and detection engineers a proactive detection engine that writes and tests content automatically. Nebulock is built for the era of AI-enabled attackers and provides multi-threaded threat hunting continuously to ensure there's no single point of failure. This comes at a critical time when adversaries are equipped with AI to rapidly develop, adapt and deploy threats that evade traditional detections. Security teams, by contrast, are stuck with tools that react only after alerts fire, and 90% of companies say they're not ready for AI-powered threats. As attackers move faster and hide deeper, defenders need a system that can hunt without waiting for an alert. Nebulock helps organizations proactively understand and act on their own data. By using behavior-based threat hunting, the platform surfaces the findings others miss. Key features include: Proactive Insider Threat Detection: Nebulock identifies lateral movement, policy violations and attacker pre-positioning—surfacing insider threats before they escalate. Actionable Signal, Not Just Alerts: Nebulock continuously hunts across raw telemetry and delivers high-fidelity findings with true positive rates over 90%, no alert regurgitation. Feedback loops using LLMs refine detection quality over time. Fast, Seamless Deployment: Nebulock integrates directly with existing tools like CrowdStrike, Okta and Splunk via API. No agents or workflow disruptions. Natural Language Hunting and Detection Engineering: Write, test and iterate detections in plain English. Ask questions like 'who RDP'd into finance servers?' and get real answers—no SQL required. Continuously Learning Threat Engine: Every finding improves the next. Analyst feedback trains the system to reduce false positives and adapt to your environment in real time. 'Every organization deserves proactive detection, not just reactive alerts,' said Damien Lewke, founder and CEO of Nebulock. 'As adversaries increasingly use AI to their advantage, we built Nebulock to help defenders turn that technology into a practical asset. Our platform works around the clock as an autonomous threat hunter, using agentic AI to deliver high-fidelity alerts in real time. It enhances human judgment and enables security teams to stay ahead of emerging threats.' Enterprises across financial services, healthcare and technology are deploying Nebulock to bridge detection gaps and ensure that no threat goes unnoticed. With the new funding, Nebulock will double down on its AI capabilities, expand cross-telemetry coverage and scale the engineering team to meet demand. In addition, Nebulock will expand integrations with leading SIEM, EDR and IAM platforms. Nebulock was founded by Damien Lewke, a former security leader at Arctic Wolf, with experience at CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks and Northrop Grumman. His team includes alumni from leading companies such as CrowdStrike, Expanse, Expel, Dragos and Mandiant. 'Nebulock's AI agents don't just scan for known IOCs—they execute autonomous, behavior-based threat hunts that learn your environment,' said Rak Garg, partner at Bain Capital Ventures. 'In early deployments, that's led to real-world malware discovery, including dormant persistent threats and credential misuse that had evaded existing EDRs and SIEM detection rules. These are verified, actionable outcomes that security teams can act on immediately, without rewriting workflows or sifting through noise. Autonomous Nebulock agents are the future of threat hunting: essential virtual teammates for every security organization focused on detection and response.' For more information about Nebulock or to join the growing team, visit Nebulock is an AI-powered threat hunting platform designed to eliminate false negatives and automate threat detection across organizations. Built to integrate seamlessly with existing security infrastructure, Nebulock's platform leverages cross-telemetry correlation and AI to detect and respond to threats proactively. For more information, visit
Express Tribune
19-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Andy Byron scandal puts Astronomer's funding future and investor trust at serious risk
Andy Byron, CEO of data orchestration company Astronomer, has been placed on administrative leave amid a viral controversy involving Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot. The incident, captured at a Coldplay concert, sparked widespread online attention, but the real consequences may be playing out in the boardroom. Astronomer had recently announced a $93 million Series C funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Venrock, and Meritech Capital. Public estimates place the company's valuation between $740 million and $1.3 billion. While Astronomer has not publicly commented on investor sentiment, conversations online and in tech circles have turned toward the potential impact on funding, reputation, and leadership stability. On prediction market Polymarket, over $750,000 was wagered on whether Byron would step down, reflecting broader public speculation. In a formal LinkedIn statement, Astronomer confirmed that its board had initiated an internal investigation and reaffirmed its commitment to company values and professional conduct. The post emphasized that no other employees were involved, specifically naming VP of People Alyssa Stoddard, and denied reports that Byron had issued a personal statement. Shortly after, co-founder Pete DeJoy was announced as interim CEO. The original video clip, which appeared to show Byron and Cabot in an intimate moment fueled waves of social media commentary, parody merchandise, and scrutiny of workplace ethics in tech startups.
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
MaintainX Funding Values Manufacturing Startup at $2.5 Billion
MaintainX Inc., a startup whose software helps monitor and maintain industrial manufacturing, raised $150 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion in a funding round co-led by existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The San Francisco-based company said it will use the new funds to accelerate research and development, to launch its business providing software to the US government, and to speed an expansion into South America and Europe.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Learn how to avoid the pitfalls that stall startup fundraising at TechCrunch All Stage on July 15
There's no shortage of capital out there, but there's even less room for error. Join a powerhouse panel at TechCrunch All Stage on July 15 in Boston for 'Fundraising Mistakes That Will Kill Your Round, and How to Avoid Them.' This Scale Stage breakout session is built specifically for early-stage founders who want to sidestep the pitfalls that slow or even sink their raise. From pre-pitch prep to post-meeting follow-through, this session will give founders a real-world look at what works — and what doesn't — in today's competitive venture landscape. Three experts. Three perspectives. One goal — helping you raise smarter. , principal at Bain Capital Ventures, invests at the earliest stages in application software and financial services. She works with founders on the frontlines of their fundraising journey and brings a sharp eye for what makes a startup pitch-ready. Kamila Khasanova is the founder and CEO of On Top Strategy, a NYC-based communications firm helping high-growth startups and VCs navigate moments of scale. Her team has supported companies that have raised more than $500 million, specializing in PR, founder thought leadership, and positioning strategies that directly impact fundraising success. Dr. Richard Munassi, Managing Director at Tampa Bay Wave, has helped launch and scale hundreds of startups through nationally recognized accelerator programs. With a background spanning NASA iTech, Techstars, UCSF, and Moffitt Cancer Center, he offers tactical guidance from pitch deck to term sheet. Expect a candid discussion with: Whether you're prepping your first round or approaching Series A, this is a must-attend session for founders who want to get it right the first time. Investor tickets save $475. Founder tickets save $375. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
