Empirical Security
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Founders
About
Empirical Security is a Chicago-based cybersecurity company building custom AI models for risk-based vulnerability management and exposure management 123. The company was founded in 2024 by Ed Bellis (CEO), Michael Roytman (CTO), and Jay Jacobs (Chief Data Scientist) — all veterans of Kenna Security, which they co-founded and Cisco acquired in 2021 23. Michael Roytman previously served as Chief Data Scientist at Kenna and Jay Jacobs led the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) 13. Empirical’s core thesis is that generic AI models cannot reliably prioritize the specific vulnerabilities that matter to a given customer, so the company trains customer-tailored mathematical models on security data 1. On 2026-07-20, the company announced a $25 million Series A led by Brightmind Partners 24.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-20 | Series A | $25M | Brightmind Partners | Costanoa Ventures 24 |
| 2025-07-17 | Seed | $12M | Costanoa Ventures | DNX Ventures, Sixty Degree Capital, Hyde Park Angels, Congruent Ventures, Element Partners, Radical Ventures, Space Capital, Gerhard Eschelbeck, Jonathan Cran, Wade Baker 35 |
Total raised to date: ~$37M across two rounds 4.
What Investors Say
No independently sourced investor testimonials with direct quotes about the Series A found in launch coverage at time of publication.
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials with direct quotes about the Series A found in launch coverage at time of publication.
Sources
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Empirical Security, “About Us,” empiricalsecurity.com. Accessed July 2026. https://www.empiricalsecurity.com/about↩↩↩
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“Cybersecurity startup Empirical Security raises $25M,” Axios Pro Enterprise Software Deals, July 20, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/07/20/cybersecurity-empirical-security-ai-25-million↩↩↩↩
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“Empirical Security Raises $12M to Stop Attacks with Custom Cybersecurity AI Models,” PR Newswire, July 17, 2025. Accessed July 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/empirical-security-raises-12m-to-stop-attacks-with-custom-cybersecurity-ai-models-302507339.html↩↩↩↩
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“Empirical Security 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors,” Tracxn. Accessed July 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/empirical-security/__fE1DSPr34FeCMvI6s1s3FnDsnCIgj8GklBHF5YCafK8/funding-and-investors↩↩↩
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“Empirical Security Raises $12 Million for AI-Driven Vulnerability Management,” SecurityWeek, July 17, 2025. Accessed July 2026. https://www.securityweek.com/empirical-security-raises-12-million-for-ai-driven-vulnerability-management/↩