Ghent-based Aikido, the get-it-done security platform for developers and SMEs, has raised over €16 million in fresh Series A funds from Singular.vc, joined by Notion Capital and Connect Ventures.
The round comes just six months after Aikido raised €5 million in seed funding, making it the fastest-capitalized startup in Belgian history. The funds will be used to expand the platform and propel Aikido onto the international stage, simplifying security for SMEs and making it manageable for developers.
Referencing compliance standards such as SOC2, ISO 27001, CIS, HIPAA, and the upcoming European NIS 2 Directive, which have become baseline requirements for software companies, co-founder Willem Delbare notes, “Security, like compliance, used to be for the big guys. Now, security is a growing requirement for all companies. SMEs must win customers and grow upmarket.” This is particularly true for companies selling to the enterprise segment or dealing with sensitive data, such as in the health and fintech sectors. However, the growing compliance requirements and security responsibilities increasingly fall on the shoulders of developers, who are now often expected to function as security experts.
Aikido simplifies security for developers with an all-in-one platform that consolidates all necessary code and cloud security scanners in one place. It features a simple UI with a freemium self-service model so developers can easily help themselves. Henri Tilloy, who led the round at Singular.vc, said: “Aikido has an incredibly pragmatic and unique approach to security. It’s simple, leverages open-source, and is easy to set up and use for developers; yet it ticks all the boxes for their company’s compliance and security requirements in one go.”
An outsider in an established industry
Security has long been dominated by US and Israeli enterprises led by industry veterans. This industry ingroup can be seen in the “Checkpoint Mafia”, for example, the security sector’s own version of the “PayPal Mafia“. While an outsider, Delbare has years of experience working with legacy security tools as a long-time CTO and serial founder. He is building Aikido from the experience of an unsatisfied customer and a frustrated developer.
“I wasted countless hours on irrelevant security alerts as a CTO. These legacy security platforms eat up developer time and honestly, they make you feel dumb. Developers are so swamped with complexity and false alerts that they stop checking them altogether. All I want is to get the fix, make sure we are safe, and get back to my code. I had to become a security expert instead.”
The company has experienced record growth since their seed round last November. Live for under a year, Aikido is used by 3,000 organizations and 6,000 individual developers, growing at a rate of 10 new organizations per day. Aikido’s rapid growth includes a recent win with Visma, which chose Aikido to secure its portfolio of 175+ companies. With 30% of its customers in the US, Aikido aims for further international expansion to help developers get security done.
