Ent
Summary active Updated Jul 6, 2026This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.
Investors
Founders
About
Ent (legal name Athena Formation Inc.) is a San Francisco-based endpoint security startup that emerged from stealth on June 16, 2026 with $100M in seed funding — one of the largest seed rounds in cybersecurity history 123. The company was founded by Elias Manousos (CEO) and Brandon Dixon, who previously founded RiskIQ (acquired by Microsoft in 2021 for a reported $500M+) and went on to help launch Microsoft Security Copilot 123. Ent’s platform runs a lightweight agent on Windows, macOS, and Linux devices that evaluates the behavior of both human users and AI agents in real time, applying customer-defined security policies with just-in-time interventions before incidents occur — an approach the company calls “intent-aware prevention” 123. Ent says the product is already in use with Global 2000 companies in hospitality, financial services, and defense 2.
Disclaimer: This is a lean profile built from initial round coverage and may be expanded as more information becomes available.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-16 | Seed | $100M | Decibel Partners | Sequoia Capital, Crosspoint Capital, Craft Ventures, Shield Capital, Felicis, In-Q-Tel 123 |
What Investors Say
No independently sourced investor quotes located at time of profile creation beyond funding announcement coverage.
What Founders Say
“Security has been stuck in a reactive loop for over a decade, but AI-powered attacks require new thinking. We believe the future of security lies in understanding intent in real time.” — Elias Manousos, CEO & Co-Founder, Ent, quoted in the June 16, 2026 announcement 23
Sources
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SecurityWeek, “Endpoint Security Startup Ent Emerges From Stealth With $100 Million Seed Round,” June 16, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.securityweek.com/endpoint-security-startup-ent-emerges-from-stealth-with-100-million-seed-round/↩↩↩↩
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SiliconANGLE, “RiskIQ founders launch Ent Security with $100M to rethink endpoint defense,” June 16, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/16/riskiq-founders-launch-ent-security-100m-rethink-endpoint-defense/↩↩↩↩↩↩
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BusinessWire (official press release), “Ent Emerges from Stealth to Bring Prevention Back to Cybersecurity,” June 16, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260616680280/en/Ent-Emerges-from-Stealth-to-Bring-Prevention-Back-to-Cybersecurity↩↩↩↩↩