Managed detection and response startup Daylight Security Inc. announced today that it has successfully raised $80 million in new funding following a remarkable more than 40-fold increase in revenue over the past year.
Daylight specializes in providing managed security operations where artificial intelligence agents handle a majority of routine tasks. Each client receives a customized set of agents, crafted by Daylight’s own security engineers to align with their specific systems and workflows. Critical decisions requiring human discernment remain under the purview of these engineers.
The responsibility of assessing when to rely on AI technology has increasingly become a focal point within security operations. A survey conducted by ISC2 Inc. among 856 cybersecurity professionals who utilize AI, published in July, revealed that 65% are spending more time on these evaluations compared to the previous year, while 63% indicated that verifying AI-generated outputs takes longer.
Daylight offers clients the flexibility to fully outsource their security operations or collaborate with an internal team. Additionally, a third option allows for Daylight engineers to work closely alongside the client’s staff. Clients also gain access to Daylight’s Aura platform, which enables security teams to investigate their environment using natural language or to explore a centralized data lake that the company began providing as a managed service in June.
According to Daylight, their service can detect threats within seconds and contain them within minutes—a stark contrast to traditional managed security providers, which may take up to ten times longer. Daylight’s coverage also extends to the AI systems that enterprises deploy internally, ensuring that alerts related to prompt injection or dubious Model Context Protocol integrations are investigated concurrently with identity, endpoint, and cloud activities.
Visual collaboration company Miro is among those already utilizing this capability. Additional customers include AI application developer Lovable Labs Inc., password management service LastPass US LP, financial research startup Rogo Technologies Inc., and payments company dLocal Ltd., which focuses on emerging markets.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Hagai Shapira noted that the metrics for evaluating a security operation are evolving from mere headcount to the effectiveness of AI agents in handling increasingly complex security tasks. Under this framework, human engineers continue to direct and manage the agents as they develop enhanced capabilities.
The company’s founders, who met while serving in Israel’s Unit 8200 intelligence unit, previously worked together at security automation firm Torq Technologies Ltd. Co-founder Eldad Rudich served as the company’s first employee and later became its vice president of research and development, while Shapira held the position of early product leader, collaborating closely with enterprise security teams.
The Series B funding round was led by the Growth Equity division of Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Craft Ventures Management, Vintage Investment Partners, and Maple Capital participated in this round. Craft Ventures had previously led Daylight’s $33 million Series A funding round a year ago, following a $7 million seed round three months prior.
Irit Kahan, managing director and global head of cybersecurity investing within Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, emphasized that the synergy between human expertise and agent-driven technology enables Daylight’s customers to respond “at machine speed.”
Daylight plans to utilize the newly acquired funds to expand its presence in the United States and to enter markets across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The company also aims to enhance its security engineering capabilities, grow its technology teams, and continue to develop the Aura platform. To date, investors have contributed a total of $120 million to the company.