Belgian cybersecurity startup becomes unicorn

Belgian cybersecurity startup Aikido Security has closed a $60 million Series B funding round at a $1 billion valuation, marking a rare unicorn milestone for a European security company and highlighting the accelerating interest in developer-centric security platforms.

The round was led by DST Global, a tech-oriented investment firm with a track record of backing major technology companies, and included participation from PSG Equity, Notion Capital, and Singular. Founded in 2022, Aikido has reached a billion-dollar valuation in just three years, a pace few cybersecurity firms attain, and according to company sources, the fastest in Europe.

The new capital will help Aikido accelerate product development and expand further into key markets, especially the United States, where it already generates around half of its revenue. In the past year, the company’s revenue grew roughly fivefold, while its customer base nearly tripled.

A developer-first approach to security

Aikido’s core proposition is rooted in the conviction that traditional application security tools have not kept pace with the rapid evolution of software development. Modern engineering teams ship code more frequently, and the widespread adoption of AI tools for coding has heightened both velocity and risk. Legacy scanners and point solutions can generate noise and distract developers, rather than offering actionable insights at the right moment.

Instead of siloed products that address a single layer of the stack, Aikido provides a unified platform that spans code analysis, cloud security, and runtime monitoring, with an emphasis on automation. The platform is designed to detect risks early in the development process, prioritise issues based on real-world impact, and help engineering teams fix problems before they reach production.

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CEO Willem Delbare has framed the product as “guardrails” for developers, tools that fit fluidly into existing workflows rather than creating extra hurdles. 

Customers range from gaming and mobile app developers to fintech and music streaming platforms, with names like Niantic, Revolut, and SoundCloud appearing among early adopters. These use cases underscore demand for security tools that can keep pace with modern development practices, where agility and context are essential.

Why the market is paying attention

Aikido’s valuation and investor interest reflect broader trends in the cybersecurity landscape. Once a domain dominated by perimeter defence and signature-based detection, security has had to adapt as software infrastructure shifts to cloud services, microservices architectures, and continuous delivery. Investors are especially focused on tools that reduce friction for engineering teams and support automated, context-aware security workflows.

DST Global’s lead on the round is noteworthy given the firm’s history of backing companies that scale globally.

In a funding environment where investor scrutiny has tightened and deals are won largely on product differentiation and tangible traction, Aikido’s growth metrics have helped draw attention. A fivefold increase in revenue within a year and strong adoption metrics among engineering teams suggest a product that resonates with users, not just buyers.

The tech ecosystem and competitive landscape

Aikido’s unicorn status also illustrates how European startups in traditionally U.S.-centric sectors like cybersecurity can carve out meaningful niches. Security products have long struggled to escape the shadow of established players headquartered in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv, but a steady wave of startups with developer-oriented tools has begun to reshape expectations.

That said, the competitive landscape remains crowded.

Vendors across cloud security, application scanning, vulnerability management, and developer tooling are all vying for engineering team attention. Some focus on narrow functions such as static analysis or open-source risk, while others bundle broader offerings. Aikido bets that a unified, integrated experience can reduce cognitive load and streamline security workflows.

Product evolution and future direction

In its own communications, Aikido has described evolving toward what it calls “self-securing software,” a future state where systems can automatically test, detect, and remediate vulnerabilities without extensive human intervention. This vision is reflected in recent product releases that embed automated penetration testing and contextual risk analysis directly into development pipelines.

Technical roadmaps shared by the company suggest deeper integrations with cloud platforms and enhanced automation capabilities, allowing developers to catch and fix issues as code is written and deployed. This direction aligns with broader industry shifts toward “security as code,” where security functions are embedded in the same workflows as infrastructure and application development.

Expanding partnerships with cloud providers and refining API-first integrations are likely priorities for Aikido in the near term. As engineering teams increasingly adopt secure development practices as part of their standard operating model, integrated platforms become more attractive than point solutions that require separate processes and tools.

What this means for the industry

Aikido’s rapid growth and investor backing reinforce a fundamental shift in security tooling: developers are now viewed as primary stakeholders in safeguarding software. This contrasts with earlier models where specialised security teams acted as gatekeepers. By aligning security functions with development workflows, tools like Aikido aim to reduce friction while improving risk visibility.

For investors, the deal is a signal that cybersecurity remains a fertile ground for innovation, particularly where AI and automation intersect with foundational development practices. As software becomes more complex and distributed, demand for real-time, integrated security controls will only rise.

Aikido’s unicorn milestone is less about the label and more about the validation of a model that places developers at the centre of security. If successful, this approach could influence how future security platforms are built and adopted across the industry.