Welcome back to The Trident Radar! We have just gone into November, you know what that means?
Monthly roundup!
October was a statement month. Big capital moved back into the ecosystem, European deal flow hit record levels, and AI-native security cemented itself as the defining investment theme of 2025.
Let’s dive in.
OCTOBER OVERVIEW
AI security takes center stage: 9 of the month’s top 20 rounds included embedded AI capabilities.
Europe hits stride: UK, France, and Germany combined for nearly 30% of total funding volume.
Compliance and risk analytics surge: Platforms connecting security posture to business metrics gained real traction.
Identity continues to consolidate: Two ITDR-focused acquisitions mark deepening M&A interest from platform players.
Agentic automation matures: SOC and DevSecOps automation rounds triple vs Q2 average.
Exit activity stabilizes: 10+ announced M&A deals — smaller than last months highs but higher-quality and strategic.
DEALS OF THE MONTH
CyberCube – Growth – $180M+ (Spectrum Equity)
The leading cyber risk analytics platform for insurers expanded its dataset and modeling capabilities to capture global cyber-catastrophe exposure. The round sets the tone for insurance-aligned analytics becoming a core pillar of enterprise security.
Defakto – Series B – $30.75M (XYZ Venture Capital)
Palo Alto startup protecting non-human and machine identities across AI-driven systems. This round validates the “identity explosion” created by agentic automation and infrastructure sprawl.
Oneleet – Series A – $33M (Dawn Capital)
Berlin-based compliance automation platform replacing legacy audit workflows with live, evidence-based controls. Part of a broader European wave toward operationalized compliance.
Bricklayer AI – Seed – $5M (Tech Square Ventures)
Atlanta-based agentic AI platform for SOC teams. Enables automated triage, correlation, and incident response through orchestrated AI agents.
Conceal – Series B – $35M (Two Bear Capital)
Augusta, Georgia’s browser-native zero trust platform raised fresh capital to push into federal and enterprise sectors.
Aurva – Seed – $2.2M (Better Capital & Java Capital)
Bengaluru-based AI data observability platform bridging DevOps and SecOps. Tracks model usage and sensitive data movement across environments.
Vibranium Labs – Seed – $4.6M (Private Investors)
San Francisco startup blending AIOps and cyber automation — builds AI agents that detect and autonomously fix infrastructure and security failures.
Gravwell – Series A – $15.4M (Two Bear Capital)
Montana-based full-stack analytics platform breaking into OT security. Gravwell is the new middle layer for industrial threat detection and investigation.
Ray Security – Seed – $11M (Ibex Investors & Venture Guides)
Tel Aviv’s predictive data protection company using ML to forecast and preempt data exposure.
MAJOR M&A
Dataminr → ThreatConnect – $290M (Announced Oct 21)
Massive consolidation play integrating ThreatConnect’s TIP and risk analytics into Dataminr’s signal intelligence engine. Strengthens real-time threat correlation for enterprise and government clients.
Ependion (Westermo) → RazorSecure – £2.7M stake (Announced Oct 21)
Strategic industrial partnership combining Westermo’s OT networking stack with RazorSecure’s anomaly detection for rail and critical infrastructure.
JumpCloud → Breez (Announced Oct 23)
Integrates identity threat detection into JumpCloud’s core platform, extending the shift from IAM to continuous identity protection.
Sunstone Partners → Clearwater – Growth Investment (Announced Oct 30)
Private equity firm takes a growth stake in the healthcare-focused cybersecurity provider, combining HIPAA compliance, incident response, and governance.
archTIS → Spirion – (Closed Oct 1)
DSPM meets privacy classification. A merger defining a new layer of data governance infrastructure.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE DEEP DIVE
AI Security Becomes Default, Not Differentiator
Of the 45+ funding events tracked in October, 21 (43%) explicitly included AI-native or agentic automation capabilities.
VCs have stopped rewarding AI as a feature, they’re now betting on actual product execution. Whether it’s SOC automation (Bricklayer AI), AI-driven remediation (Vibranium Labs), or AI data governance (Aurva), the market is definitely AI heavy.
Investor to Watch
Two Bear Capital (Whitefish, Montana)
Founded in 2019, Two Bear Capital focuses on early-stage companies operating at the intersections of AI, cybersecurity, life sciences and deep tech.
The firm has led notable cyber investments this cycle, including Conceal closing $26 M Series B in October and Gravwell’s $15.4 M Series A.
With around 4 investments per year, its a change to see two cyber companies in the past month. Expect one more coming this year…
OCTOBER HIRING TRENDS
Hiring momentum continued through Q4 kickoff with 26 new open roles, 90%+ of which were US-based.
Key patterns this month:
Founding AE surge: Early-stage startups post-seed rounds are actively building GTM foundations, seen from funding over the past 3 months.
Retained leadership searches: Multiple VP-level mandates. Companies are not quite ready yet to slot in big team building CRO’s, that’s for early next year.
Location Pattern: We have seen a huge shift in our work over in the states!
Check out our 2026 preview coming out soon! It’ll include a lot of salary and hiring information for next year!
HOT JOBS
RVP of Sales – Risk Management (Crypto) | Washington DC / Remote
Leading risk management business expanding its US presence. $200K base + commission.
Contact: [email protected]
VP of Sales – Threat Intelligence | New York / US Remote
Global threat intelligence platform scaling commercial operations across North America. Seeking a proven VP of Sales to lead GTM growth and team expansion. $500K OTE.
Contact: [email protected]
Founding Account Executive – AI Security | Tel Aviv
Early-stage security vendor redefining cloud data protection with AI-powered observability. First GTM hire responsible for building the sales function from the ground up. $400K OTE.
Contact: [email protected]
Founding Account Executive | New York / Remote
AI‑powered security platform redefining data and cloud protection for the enterprise. $330K OTE.
Contact: [email protected]
Founding Account Executive | Tel Aviv
Data protection company providing full visibility into sensitive data movement with automated leak detection and seamless deployment. $360K OTE.
Contact: [email protected]
Ready to make your next move? These roles won't stay open long.
OCTOBER PREDICTIONS
Expect a US-Israeli AI-security partnership to surface with a $20–30M Series A.
One browser-based zero-trust startup will announce an acquisition by a major endpoint vendor.
Series B valuations will flatten by ~10% as late-stage investors refocus on margin efficiency.
📥 INBOX INTEL
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Funding rounds in stealth mode
Executive movements and reorganizations
Customer wins/losses that signal market shifts
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Hiring sprees or freezes at specific companies
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Editor: Ryan Keeley | London