Horizon3 AI
A San Francisco security company whose NodeZero software attacks a customer's own network the way a hacker would. It passed $100 million in recurring revenue in Oct 2026, three months after a $2 billion round.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026- Valuation
- $2B+ set by the $250M Series E in Aug 2026, about triple the $650M Series D in June 2025.
- Raised
- $428.5M total since its 2019 founding, per SiliconANGLE, across seed through Series E.
- Revenue
- $100M+ ARR crossed in Oct 2026, growing more than 120% a year, with 125% net dollar retention.
- Liquidity
- None found no staff tender offer or secondary sale has been announced or reported.
- AI
- Is the product NodeZero is an autonomous AI pentester; it has run more than 350,000 production tests.
- Watch
- Channel reliance partners handle about 90% of its business, so reseller health matters a lot.
- Hiring
- 87 → 122 remote listings since Oct 10.
Subscriptions to an AI that pentests your network.
Horizon3 sells NodeZero as a subscription: software that safely attacks a customer's live network, chains weak passwords and misconfigurations into real attack paths, then retests after fixes. Most sales go through partners such as resellers and MSPs (about 90%). It also sells NodeZero Federal to US agencies under FedRAMP High. It does not publish a revenue split.
Horizon3, Aug 5, 2026- 1A large record of real attacks on real networksMore than 350,000 production-safe tests across more than 7,000 customers feed what NodeZero learns, a dataset newer rivals have to build from scratch.Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026
- 2Cleared to sell to the US governmentFedRAMP High authorized and operating in large classified agencies; SiliconANGLE names NSA and CISA as customers.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026
- 3Customers stay and spend more95% gross dollar retention and 125% net dollar retention; about 80% of customers moved from annual to monthly testing and 40% to weekly.Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026
- CrowdStrike$256Blisted, Oct 30 close
- Tenable$5.59Blisted, Oct 30 close
- Horizon3 AI$2.00BSeries E, Aug 3
- Rapid7$1.12Blisted, Oct 30 close
- Pentera$1.00Bprivate, Mar 12
- XBOW$1.00Bprivate, Mar 18
Private values are the last reported round; they can be stale. Listed values are market value. Bars start at zero.
Every round, and what its terms give away.
Horizon3 AI is private, so there is no share price. What its investors paid, and on what terms, is the closest thing to one.
- $2.00B
- latest valuation, Series E Aug 3
- $429M
- raised in all
- $100M
- ARR, as of Oct 20
- +120%
- growth, as reported
Not disclosed. The company only says growth was balanced with efficiency.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026Post-money valuations as reported. The line starts at zero. Rounds without a reported valuation are left off.
- Aug 3Series E$250M at $2.00BLed by NightDragon and NEA. About 13% of the company, if all new sharesValuation stated as more than $2B. Seven new investors incl. Sapphire, PSG, EDBI, SAIC; DeWalt and Kyauk of NightDragon join the board.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026
- Jun 10Series D$100M at $650MLed by NEA. About 15% of the company, if all new shares$650M is the company's figure, given in the Series E release. Form D showed $73M sold by May 22, 2025.Horizon3, Jun 10, 2025
- Aug 8Series C$40MLed by Craft VenturesSignalFire joined. Brought total raised to $78.5M per TechCrunch.Fenwick, Aug 8, 2023
- Nov 2
- Jun 8
- Jan 24Seed$2.5MSeries Seed preferred; $2.5M sold of a $3.5M offering per Form D (first sale date).SEC Form D, Feb 7, 2020
- Down or flat round?No. The Series E at more than $2B was about 3x the $650M Series D, per the company.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Clear
- How much the last round sold$250M at more than $2B post-money: at most about 12.5% of the company.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Clear
- Time since the last raiseAbout three months since the Aug 2026 Series E, which was oversubscribed. No sign of a cash squeeze.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Clear
- Unusual terms (preferences, ratchets, warrants)?Not disclosed for any round, and no report of structured terms was found. The 2025 Form D lists plain equity.SEC Form D, May 22, 2025Open
- Who ledExisting investors NightDragon and NEA co-led, but seven new outside investors joined, including Sapphire and PSG.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Clear
- Can staff sell shares?No tender offer or employee secondary sale was announced or reported in any round release we checked.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Open
- Layoffs in the last 12 months?None found. The EMEA team alone grew from 8 to more than 110 staff, per the company.Horizon3, Oct 15, 2026Clear
Clear: checked, nothing found. Flag: found, with the source. Open: could not be checked.
No filing reported
What the record says, and what we think it means.
The fact is the source's. The read, in italics, is ours.
- 01Good
Passed $100 million in recurring revenue.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026Announced Oct 20, 2026: ARR above $100M, up more than 120% a year, five years after crossing $1M in Sept 2021.
Doubling at this size is rare. ARR is the company's own measure, not audited revenue, and growth is stated as more than 120%, not exact.
- 02Good
Valuation tripled in about 14 months.
Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026Series E of $250M at more than $2B in Aug 2026, versus $650M at the June 2025 Series D.
A strong mark for staff equity granted before mid 2025. Grants after it start from a much higher price, so the next jump has to be earned.
- 03Watch
Nine in ten deals go through partners.
Horizon3, Aug 5, 2026Partners handle about 90% of the business; Horizon3 put $20M into its partner program in Aug 2026 and expanded with Pax8 in Europe.
Partners give reach without a huge sales team, but margins are shared and growth depends on resellers staying keen.
- 04Good
Customers keep paying and buy more.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 202695% gross dollar retention and 125% net dollar retention, per the $100M ARR release.
These are healthy numbers for security software. They are self-reported and not audited.
- 05Neutral
A big US government business.
Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026FedRAMP High authorized and working in classified agencies; it named a VP of Federal Sales in Aug 2026.
Government work is sticky but tied to budgets and procurement cycles, which can stall.
- 06Good
Europe is growing fastest.
Horizon3, Oct 15, 2026EMEA revenue grew more than 260% last fiscal year; an Amsterdam EMEA headquarters opened and the regional team went from 8 to 110+.
International growth reduces reliance on the US. It also means more hiring outside the US, which matters for remote applicants by location.
- 07Neutral
A veteran security dealmaker joined the board.
SiliconANGLE, Aug 3, 2026Dave DeWalt, NightDragon founder and former CEO of FireEye and McAfee, took a board seat with the Series E.
DeWalt has run public security companies and sold them. That experience can help either path: an IPO or a sale.
- 08Watch
A newer AI hacker rival is now a unicorn.
Pulse 2.0, Mar 18, 2026XBOW, founded in 2024, raised a $120M Series C in Mar 2026 at a reported valuation above $1B.
AI pentesting is drawing big money. Horizon3 is larger today, but well-funded rivals can pressure prices.
Sales is paid 88% over market. Data, 4% over.
We save every company's roles, pay by team and level, AI share and churn every day, so each month this page can say more. Sparklines use their own scale.
Can AI agents do business with Horizon3 AI?
We checked the agent payment programs, developer docs and site rules an AI assistant would meet.
Agent ready for its buyers. A hosted MCP server and a GraphQL API, but no llms.txt.
- YesAn MCP server agents can callThe NodeZero MCP Server, hosted by Horizon3 with OAuth 2.1 or run locally with an API key, lets AI clients query findings and launch pentests.Horizon3 docs: NodeZero MCP Server
- YesAn API for automationA GraphQL API at /graphql with token auth, plus a ready-made command line client, documented publicly.Horizon3 docs: Getting Started with GraphQL
- YesPlugs into security automation toolsNodeZero sends critical findings into Palo Alto Cortex XSOAR (Oct 2026) and CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM (Sept 2026) for automated playbooks.Horizon3, Oct 27, 2026
- Not foundDocs that AI tools can readhorizon3.ai/llms.txt and docs.horizon3.ai/llms.txt both return 404.horizon3.ai/llms.txt (404)
- YesLets AI crawlers read its siteNo AI bots named. Main site blocks only /wp-admin/ for all bots; docs site allows everything.horizon3.ai/robots.txt
- Not foundCan an agent buy it?No agent checkout (ACP, AP2 or similar) found. About 90% of sales go through partners, which agent protocols do not yet cover.Horizon3, Aug 5, 2026
Where Horizon3 AI puts AI to work.
- 1The AI is the hackerNodeZero runs autonomously inside a customer network, probing like an attacker and reporting fixes. In July 2026 it added AI web app pentesting, tested in early access by 95 customers.SiliconANGLE, Aug 3, 2026
- 2Next: agents that fix what they findSeries E money funds autonomous blue team agents that remediate NodeZero findings, plus attacker and defender learning loops.Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026
- 3Growing headcount, not cutting itThe 2026 raise is mainly for sales, marketing and channel hiring, with expansion into Singapore and Australia. No layoffs were found.SiliconANGLE, Aug 3, 2026
More listings than on Sep 7, led by engineering.
What Horizon3 AI shows about working there.
Short videos from Horizon3 AI's official YouTube channel, played here. We only use a channel that links horizon3.ai and carries the company's name.
- Life at workThe thing I love most about working at Horizon3.ai is...712 views
- Highlights from Horizon3's 2026 EMEA Partner Conference55 views
What has to be true for $2 billion to hold?
The starting revenue is Horizon3 AI's own reported figure. A way to think, not a forecast, and not investment advice.
At 20x, Horizon3 AI needs $100 million of revenue to be worth $2 billion. Your world gets there with $484 million, so the next round likely prices above the last.
$100,000 of equity valued at the $2.00B Series E price would be worth about $484,000 on paper in this world, before dilution from new rounds, taxes and vesting. Private shares only turn into cash at a sale, an IPO or a tender offer.
A way to think, not a forecast, and not investment advice.
Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026The signals, and which way they push.
- TailwindCustomers test far more often.
About 80% of customers moved from annual to monthly pentests and 40% to weekly, which grows usage and spend.
- TailwindAI attackers raise the stakes.
The company pitches an AI vs AI era; investors tripled its value in a year on that view.
- TailwindNew regions opening up.
EMEA revenue up 260%+, a new Singapore hub in Oct 2026, and Pax8 distribution to European MSPs.
- HeadwindCrowded, well-funded field.
XBOW ($1B+, Mar 2026) and Pentera (about $1B, estimated) chase the same budgets, alongside listed vendors like Rapid7 and Tenable.
Where Horizon3 AI ends up, if we had to bet.
Our calls, not facts. Each one is tied to something that already happened, so you can judge the reasoning.
- 1
Horizon3 lists on a US exchange by 2031.
Coin flip 50%IPOIt passed $100M ARR growing over 120% and added a board member who has run public security firms. No filing, banker or date has been reported, and fresh private money removes any rush.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026 - 2
A large security platform buys Horizon3 before it lists.
Coin flip 50%M&ASecurity consolidates often, and its XSOAR and CrowdStrike integrations show it already sits beside the big platforms. At $2B+ the price is high, and nothing about a sale has been reported.
Horizon3, Oct 27, 2026 - 3
Fixing, not just finding, becomes a paid NodeZero product line.
Likely 72%ProductsThe Series E explicitly funds autonomous blue team agents. Its XSOAR integration already pushes findings into automated fix workflows.
Horizon3, Aug 3, 2026 - 4
Continuous AI pentesting replaces yearly human pentests at most mid-size firms.
Likely 72%AIMost Horizon3 customers already test monthly and many weekly. Rivals from XBOW to Pentera are built on the same shift.
Horizon3, Oct 20, 2026 - 5
Prices for automated pentesting fall as AI rivals multiply.
Coin flip 50%CompetitionXBOW raised at $1B+ two years after founding, and listed vendors add similar features. Horizon3's test history and FedRAMP High are its defence.
Pulse 2.0, Mar 18, 2026
Read by the Still Remote research agent on November 1, 2026 from the sources linked on this page. Facts and scenarios only, not investment advice.