What KnowBe4 does

KnowBe4 is a security awareness training and human risk management platform founded in 2010 and headquartered in Clearwater, Florida (Tampa Bay area). The company serves 70,000+ organizations globally across enterprise, mid-market, SMB, government, and education segments with a portfolio built on 15+ years of accumulated behavior data. Its core offering began as simulated phishing and security awareness training and has expanded into a unified platform covering Cloud Email Security (Defend for inbound threats, Prevent for outbound data loss prevention, PhishER Plus for incident response), Compliance Plus for regulatory training, SecurityCoach for real-time behavioral coaching, and the AIDA suite of 12+ AI defense agents. Most recently, the company launched Agent Risk Manager in April 2026, extending its scope from human risk to autonomous AI agent security, addressing prompt injection, unauthorized data disclosure, and resource abuse.

The underlying technology is built around the proprietary SmartRisk Engine, which scores risk using 316 indicators across both human behavior and AI agent activity. AI capabilities span text, video, audio, structured data, and multimodal training generation, with generative AI powering the Content Creation Agent (producing training in 30 languages via Synthesia integration), the Deepfake Training Content Agent, and the AIDA Orchestration agent that autonomously manages personalized phishing tests and training at individual user level. The platform integrates with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Defender, CrowdStrike, Dashlane, EasyDMARC, and Secure Code Warrior, with FedRAMP Moderate authorization enabling federal government deployment.

The business model is per-seat annual subscription with quote-based enterprise pricing. Revenue streams include the core training subscription plus add-on modules for Cloud Email Security, AIDA tiers (KSAT Diamond + AIDA, SAT Advanced), Compliance Plus, and Agent Risk Manager. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales, inside sales for mid-market, a global channel partner network, product-led growth via a free tools portfolio (Phishing Security Test, Phish Alert Button, Ransomware Simulator, Domain Spoof Test, BreachSim, Weak Password Test), and marketplace presence (AWS Marketplace). The company employs 1,001-5,000 staff, operates across 240+ countries, and is currently privately held by Vista Equity Partners and KKR following a $4.6 billion take-private acquisition in 2024.

Name

KnowBe4

Legal name

KnowBe4, Inc.

Website

https://KnowBe4.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

KnowBe4 is a security awareness training and human risk management platform serving 70,000+ organizations globally with AI-powered phishing simulation, cloud email security, compliance training, and AI agent risk management, sold via per-seat subscription across enterprise, mid-market, and SMB segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Security Awareness Training

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud & SaaS Security Awareness (e.g., M365/Google Workspace) (EDABAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Email Phishing & BEC Protection (HDADAKAB), Collaboration Account Takeover & Session Protection (HDADAKAH)

Keywords

• Security awareness training
• Phishing simulation
• Cloud email security
• Human risk management
• Compliance training

Headquarters

HQ city

Clearwater

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Security Awareness Training Subscription: Subscription-based security awareness training platform with per-seat pricing. Includes access to training library, phishing simulations, and compliance modules. Enterprise licensing with annual billing.
2. Cloud Email Security: Additional layer of email protection including Defend (inbound), Prevent (outbound), and PhishER Plus (incident response) sold as subscription add-ons to core training platform.
3. AIDA AI Agents: AI defense agents available as subscription add-ons including KSAT Diamond + AIDA and SAT Advanced subscription tiers. Autonomous agents for training management and content creation.
4. Agent Risk Manager: AI agent security product integrated into HRM+ platform, targeting enterprises managing AI agent workforce alongside human workforce.
5. Compliance Training: Compliance Plus module with role-based assignments and HRIS integration, available as subscription add-on for organizations needing regulatory compliance training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

KnowBe4 sells a subscription-based human and agent risk management platform that combines security awareness training, simulated phishing, AI-driven behavioral risk scoring, cloud email security, and AI agent governance for enterprise and government customers. The company monetizes via per-seat annual subscriptions across its Security Awareness Training (SAT), Cloud Email Security (Defend/Prevent/PhishER Plus), AIDA AI Defense Agents, and Agent Risk Manager product lines, supplemented by free assessment tools that drive lead generation.

Product overview

KnowBe4 is a unified human and agent risk management platform offering a comprehensive portfolio of products organized around four core pillars: Security Awareness Training (including SAT Advanced and SAT Foundation tiers), Cloud Email Security (encompassing Defend for inbound threats and Prevent for outbound data loss), AI Defense Agents (AIDA suite with 12+ autonomous agents for automated training and threat assessment), and Agent Risk Manager (for securing AI agent workforces). The platform is built on 15+ years of behavioral data and serves 70,000+ organizations globally. Products integrate with Microsoft 365, CrowdStrike, and other enterprise tools, and the platform recently expanded from human-focused security awareness to include AI agent security capabilities with its Agent Risk Manager product launched in April 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AIDA (AI Defense Agents): A collection of AI-powered tools designed for human risk management, including cybersecurity risk assessment, automated training delivery, and simulated phishing testing.
• Agent Risk Manager
• PhishER
• Defend
• Prevent
• SecurityCoach
• Compliance Plus
• HRM+

Products and services

• KnowBe4 Platform Unified human and agent risk management platform combining security awareness training, email security, AI defense agents, and agent risk management for enterprise and government organizations globally.
• Security Awareness Training Behavioral change-focused training delivering personalized education that helps employees recognize and resist phishing, social engineering, and AI-generated attacks. Available with SAT Advanced and SAT Foundation subscription tiers.
• AIDA (AI Defense Agents) Suite of AI-powered agents for human risk management including automated training delivery, simulated phishing testing, content creation, and orchestration, with 12+ agents deployed across 70,000+ organizations.
• Agent Risk Manager Industry-first product that secures, monitors, and controls autonomous AI agent behavior in enterprise environments, addressing prompt injection attacks, unauthorized data sharing, and resource abuse with real-time behavioral monitoring and adversarial simulation; integrated into the HRM+ platform.
• SecurityCoach Real-time coaching product that provides immediate security guidance and micro-training to employees when they engage in risky behaviors, reducing helpdesk tickets and security incidents.
• Compliance Plus Compliance training solution that automates policy acknowledgment, reporting, and audit-readiness workflows with continuously updated modules for regulations including HIPAA, GDPR, and GLBA.
• Cloud Email Security Layered cloud email defense platform that spots and stops phishing, malware, and social engineering attacks using adaptive AI-powered protection with no tuning required, encompassing Defend, Prevent, and PhishER Plus.
• Defend (Inbound Email Security) Inbound email security solution that uses behavioral AI to detect and block phishing, malware, and social engineering before messages reach inboxes, augmenting Microsoft 365's native protections.
• Prevent (Outbound Email Security) Behavioral AI-powered data loss prevention solution that detects misdirected emails, suspicious attachments, and unauthorized data sharing in real time, helping organizations meet HIPAA, GDPR, and GLBA requirements.
• PhishER Plus Incident response solution that automates prioritization and response to phishing threats reported by users, enabling security teams to quickly identify and neutralize attacks; includes the Phish Alert Button for one-click user reporting.
• Messaging Security for Microsoft Teams Extension of KnowBe4's threat detection and response capabilities into Microsoft Teams, monitoring external messages for suspicious content, checking Teams settings for risky configurations, and blocking known malicious actors across email and Teams channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce phishing susceptibility by up to 86%
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability11 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Secure Code WarriorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Partnership to provide AI secure coding training for organizations with technical teams. Adds 31 learning activities covering AI-assisted development risks and OWASP security threats, available in eight spoken languages across 10 programming languages. Extends KnowBe4's training library into technical security education while giving Secure Code Warrior access to KnowBe4's global customer base.
• EasyDMARCcoreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026Strategic partnership making EasyDMARC the sole and exclusive provider of DMARC services to KnowBe4's global community of over 70,000 organizations. Integrates EasyDMARC's email authentication and domain intelligence with KnowBe4's digital workforce security platform to help organizations shift from reactive defense to proactive prevention of phishing, spoofing, and domain impersonation attacks.
• FlywirecoreOthers · 22 April 2026Three-year partnership with Flywire as preferred global accounts receivable and international payments partner. Automates KnowBe4's end-to-end invoice-to-cash lifecycle across 240+ countries and 140+ currencies, expected to reduce manual reconciliation by approximately 95% and generate millions in annual transaction cost savings.
• DashlanecoreTechnology or Integration · 6 April 2026First-of-its-kind integration combining real-time threat detection with security training to mitigate credential-based risks. Enables automatic, contextual security training when threats such as compromised credentials or phishing are detected through Dashlane's Omnix platform. Approximately one-third of corporate logins use weak or compromised credentials outside SSO coverage.
• ERP Advisors GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint webinar with ERP Advisors Group on October 16 discussing the dangers of artificial intelligence to businesses, cybercriminal utilization of AI, and protective measures for enterprises.
• TrebleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKnowBe4 is a client of Treble's Cybersecurity Practice Group, a B2B technology PR agency. Treble's Cybersecurity Practice Group grew over 400% year-over-year, driven by demand from cybersecurity companies.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration between KnowBe4 and Microsoft security solutions including Microsoft 365, Defender O365, and Defender ICES technology. Combined email threat detection and user security through partnership enhancing defense in depth for shared customers.
• SecurityAdvisorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired SecurityAdvisor for up to $80 million ($50 million upfront plus up to $30 million in performance incentives). SecurityAdvisor's human behavior detection and response technology integrated into KnowBe4's platform, enabling real-time micro-learning alerts via Slack and Teams when employees engage in risky security behavior. Acquisition scheduled for completion Q4 2021 with further integration in H2 2022.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Arctic Wolf: Arctic Wolf is a security operations vendor whose Managed Awareness and Training offerings overlap with KnowBe4's SAT platform. While broader in scope, it competes for the same InfoSec/CISO budget allocated to human risk management.
• Abnormal Security: Abnormal Security uses behavioral AI to detect email threats, with overlapping capabilities to KnowBe4's Defend product. As a well-funded emerging player in the cloud email security category, it competes for the same enterprise security budgets.
• SANS Institute: SANS Institute offers premium cybersecurity training and awareness content (SANS Security Awareness) for technical and non-technical audiences, competing with KnowBe4 on training content quality and enterprise adoption in highly regulated industries.
• Infosec Institute: Infosec Institute provides security awareness training, phishing simulations, and compliance training as part of its broader cybersecurity education platform, serving as a comparable mid-market alternative to KnowBe4's SAT and Compliance Plus products.

Direct peers

• Mimecast: Mimecast is an enterprise email security and resilience platform that overlaps with KnowBe4's Cloud Email Security (Defend/Prevent) products and serves a similar enterprise customer base with comparable subscription-based delivery.
• Sophos: Sophos Phish Threat offers security awareness training and phishing simulations bundled into the broader Sophos Central security platform, competing with KnowBe4 particularly in the mid-market and SMB segments.
• Proofpoint: Proofpoint is the closest direct competitor, offering both Security Awareness Training (formerly Wombat Security) and a leading enterprise email security platform. It competes head-to-head with KnowBe4 in security awareness and increasingly in integrated email/people-risk platforms.
• Cofense: Cofense (formerly PhishMe) is a direct peer in phishing simulation and reporting, with Cofense Reporter and PhishMe as core offerings. It competes directly with KnowBe4's PhishER Plus and Phishing Security Test products in the phishing defense market.
• Barracuda Networks: Barracuda offers Email Protection, Phishing Simulation, and Security Awareness Training as part of its email security portfolio, competing with KnowBe4 particularly in mid-market and channel-led deals.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Security (Defender for Office 365): Microsoft bundles Defender for Office 365, Defender Attack Simulation Training, and Purview compliance into Microsoft 365 E3/E5, serving as a broad incumbent that competes with KnowBe4's Defend, Prevent, and SAT offerings as a default-bundled alternative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/knowbe4
• YouTubeyoutube.com/knowbe4
• Facebookfacebook.com/knowbe4
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knowbe4
• TikToktiktok.com/@knowbe4inc

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A9 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KnowBe4