Dreadnode

Dreadnode builds offensive-security tooling purpose-built for AI systems rather than adapting traditional penetration-testing tools to LLMs. Its product line spans Crucible, a public AI hacking sandbox used to train and benchmark offensive AI agents; Strikes, an “AI agent training ground” where organizations deploy and evaluate offensive agents against realistic scenarios; and Spyglass, a red-teaming tool (in limited early access) for stress-testing AI applications already in production.

The company was co-founded by Will Pearce, formerly the AI red-team lead at NVIDIA, and Nick Landers, formerly VP of Research at NetSPI — a founding team with direct pedigree in both AI security research and traditional offensive security consulting. That background is the company’s core differentiator: rather than a static scanning or guardrail product, Dreadnode frames AI security as an ongoing offense/defense loop, using automated AI agents to continuously probe other AI systems for exploitable weaknesses.

Dreadnode raised a $14 million Series A (reported in 2025, with some date disagreement across outlets) from investors including Decibel, In-Q-Tel, Sands Capital, Next Frontier Capital and Indie VC. In-Q-Tel’s participation signals interest from the U.S. intelligence community in offensive AI testing capability, though Dreadnode does not publicly name specific government or enterprise customers.