Pistachio, an Oslo-based company developing an AI-powered cybersecurity awareness training platform, has secured $7 million in Series A funding led by Walter Ventures, with participation from Idékapital, Angel Invest, MP PENSJON PK, and J12 Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to support its expansion in Europe and North America, including the opening of a new office in Valencia. Pistachio offers a fully automated system that delivers personalized cyberattack simulations and training through tools like email, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, requiring no manual oversight. With clients in 16 countries and over 600 organizations using the platform, the funding will go toward scaling operations and product development aimed at addressing human error in cybersecurity. Walter Ventures’ Atanas Mukov and Angel Invest’s Remo Mahler will join the company’s board as part of the round.
As the world’s first fully automated cybersecurity awareness platform requiring no manual oversight, Pistachio empowers businesses to reduce human risk through AI-driven, personalized security training and attack simulations. The platform sends realistic, personalized cyberattack simulations and security scenarios directly to employees’ inboxes, Microsoft Teams, or Slack. It runs autonomously in the background, helping employees recognize and respond to threats in real time, through seamless, in-context training.
With a presence in 16 countries, users in 99 countries, and more than 600 companies using the platform (including Scotland’s University of St Andrews and Europe’s largest Managing General Underwriters, The Riskpoint Group), the company will use the latest capital injection to bring outdated enterprise cybersecurity training into the AI era and set the gold standard for security culture among global businesses. By analyzing user behavior and learning patterns, the platform ensures that every employee receives relevant, engaging, and practical security education, significantly reducing the risk of costly security breaches ($4.88 million per breach on average), 95% of which were attributed to human error in 2024.
“Employees remain the most significant vulnerability in enterprise security, and ineffective training leaves organizations exposed to phishing attacks, social engineering, and other cyber threats,” says Joe Jones, co-founder and CEO of Pistachio. “A staggering 40% of users fall for at least one of the first 15 phishing simulations through Pistachio. And with AI making it easier and cheaper to undertake social engineering attacks, we can no longer rely on ‘traditional’ security training, which has long been static and ineffective, failing to engage employees in meaningful ways. Pistachio was built to challenge that status quo, and this funding allows us to bring our vision to even more organizations globally.”
The latest funding marks a pivotal moment in Pistachio’s journey, having now surpassed an annual attack simulation run rate of two million simulations. Pistachio’s rapid growth is also underscored by a fourfold increase in annual recurring revenue between 2023 to 2024. Founded in 2019 (formerly as CYBR) by cybersecurity veteran Joe Jones, alongside Awais Aziz and Jaan Kitchuk, Pistachio underwent a rebrand in late 2023—spearheaded jointly by Joe and CTO Zack Korman—and now operates a fully automated, AI-driven cybersecurity awareness platform which tailors training for every person within an organization.
“We see a massive opportunity in making security awareness more intelligent and engaging,” says Atanas Mukov, Partner at Walter Ventures. “Pistachio is at the forefront of this transformation, and we’re excited to support their mission to make enterprises more secure through smarter training solutions.”
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/pistachio-raises-7m-series-a/
