Discern Security raises USD $13 million in Series A

Discern Security has raised USD $13 million in Series A funding in a round led by Forgepoint Capital.

First Rays Ventures, Growth Enjin Partners, Vela Ventures and angel investors also participated. The funding will support development and adoption of the Discern Security Loop platform.

The Sunnyvale cybersecurity company is targeting a problem that has grown as businesses adopt more security software and generate more vulnerability data. Discern argues that many security teams are inundated with findings but lack the staff and time to act on them, leaving gaps between detection and remediation.

Its platform is designed to evaluate how existing security controls are used, identify weaknesses, rank them by business impact and route remediation steps through workflows that still require human approval. The system brings together data from across an organisation's security, IT and compliance environment.

A key part of the company's pitch is that many customers underuse software they already buy. "Our data shows that customers use less than 25% of the features of the security products they buy," said Sai Venkataraman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Discern Security. "With our agentic loops, we can at least double tool utilization for our customers."

That argument reflects a wider debate in cybersecurity spending, as companies continue to add tools but often struggle to integrate them into day-to-day operations. Vendors are increasingly trying to show that artificial intelligence can help overburdened teams make practical use of existing systems rather than simply produce more alerts.

Customer backing

Discern named Carrier, TCS and Coforge among organisations using its technology. It also included comments from users and partners pointing to demand for tools that can measure security posture over time rather than focus only on discovering new issues.

One customer described the appeal in terms of measurable progress. "Here at Carrier, we believe in making cybersecurity actionable with agentic AI loops and we are excited to work with Discern and their partner Infocepts in baselining our top security metrics and improving them over time," said Parikshit Umare, Director of Digital Transformation at Carrier. "We have a vision of continuous, resilient, and democratic cybersecurity, and new and innovative partners together with our in-house expertise can help realize that vision."

Another industry practitioner framed the issue as one of prioritisation in an environment where the number of vulnerabilities keeps expanding. "As a cybersecurity architect, I see a huge opportunity to tangibly and quantifiably improve security metrics and posture with AI loops where we can assess, baseline, optimize, and remediate controls over time," said Andrew Dutton, Cybersecurity Architect at Sumitomo. "In the age of unlimited vulnerabilities, continuous optimization of cyber metrics is key, and I am happy to collaborate with Discern here."

Investor thesis

Forgepoint Capital's involvement places Discern in a part of the cybersecurity market that is shifting from standalone detection tools to platforms that promise operational follow-through. Investors have continued to back companies that can tie AI systems to specific workflows and cost savings, especially in sectors where security teams face labour shortages and fragmented tooling.

Forgepoint Partner Rey Kirton said the company's approach depends on understanding the structure of each customer's environment. "AI can significantly improve security posture by closing control gaps with existing tools, but doing so requires a deep understanding of the organization's environment, business context, and security stack," said Rey Kirton, Partner at Forgepoint Capital. "Discern brings that understanding into an AI-powered workspace that helps users investigate, act, and continuously improve security."

Discern said its software connects findings to controls, assets and compliance requirements, with reporting aligned to frameworks including MITRE ATT&CK. That focus suggests the company wants to appeal not only to frontline security teams but also to executives and compliance leaders who increasingly want evidence that cyber spending is improving outcomes.

The new funding is expected to be used to expand engineering and product teams and broaden the platform's library of AI skills. Discern also plans to add more autonomous functions while keeping human approval within operational workflows.

The company's central claim remains that stronger security may come less from buying more products than from making current systems work harder. It says customers use less than 25% of the features in the security products they buy.