What ETHIACK does

ETHIACK, S.A. is a Portuguese cybersecurity company headquartered at Instituto Pedro Nunes in Coimbra, founded in 2019 by three co-founders (Jorge Monteiro, CEO; André Baptista, CTO; and Vítor Pinho). The company operates an autonomous ethical hacking platform that combines AI-powered pentesting agents (Hackian) with human expert oversight to continuously discover, validate, and prioritize exploitable vulnerabilities across customers' external, internal, and third-party attack surfaces. The platform operates on a SeeTestAct cycle — See (continuous attack surface management including supply chain), Test (event-driven autonomous pentesting), and Act (validated findings with proof-of-exploitation and compliance-ready reporting for ISO, SOC2, PCI, and DORA). Technical differentiators include proof-of-exploit validation (eliminating scanner false positives), event-driven continuous testing triggered by code pushes and infrastructure changes, and the Ethiack Beacon module for internal-network automated testing.

The product portfolio comprises the Ethiack Platform with modules for External Assets Pentesting, Internal Network Pentesting (via Ethiack Beacon), Mobile Assets Pentesting, Cloud Pentesting (roadmap), Authentication Pentesting, Credentials Discovery, Attack Surface Management, and Compliance Reporting. The company monetizes primarily through annual SaaS subscriptions with quote-based enterprise pricing, supplemented by a 30-day free trial accessible via self-serve portal signup and on-demand testing services for on-premises engagements. The hybrid GTM motion combines product-led growth for SMBs/startups with enterprise field sales for large organizations. Customer segments span large enterprises (CEGID, ANA Aeroportos, Broadvoice, Smartex, U.Porto with 5,000+ assets), SaaS companies, telecommunications, financial institutions, and Portuguese startups. Funding history includes a €78,000 Startup Wise Guys accelerator grant in February 2023 and a €4 million seed round in December 2024 led by Explorer Investments with participation from Amena Ventures, Aralab, Start Ventures, COREangels, and Startup Wise Guys; proceeds are earmarked for AI Hackbot development and international expansion into the UK, Europe, US, and Middle East. Operational recognition includes Google for Startups 2024 Growth Academy: AI for Cybersecurity cohort selection and BeBeez International's 2025 Portuguese Next Big Innovators list.

Name

ETHIACK

Legal name

ETHIACK, S.A.

Website

https://ethiack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ETHIACK is a Portuguese cybersecurity company that combines AI-powered pentesting agents (Hackian) with human ethical-hacker expertise to deliver continuous, validated penetration testing, attack surface management, and compliance reporting (ISO, SOC2, PCI, DORA) for enterprise and SaaS customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity / Autonomous Penetration Testing

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Security Systems Services (56162), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing Services (BPAEADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

App Security, Compliance & Review Automation Platforms (BPAMADAJ)

Keywords

• AI penetration testing
• Attack surface management
• Autonomous ethical hacking
• Vulnerability validation platform
• Continuous security testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Coimbra

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based SaaS: Annual or monthly subscription plans for continuous pentesting and attack surface management. Payment options include credit card (Visa, American Express, MasterCard), Direct Debit (GoCardless), bank transfer for annual subscriptions, and other local payment methods. Price adjustments up to 15 days prior to anniversary date according to ECB HICP with minimum 7.5% annual adjustment.
2. On-demand Testing Services: Additional testing scope beyond base subscription including on-premises testing events. Travel costs charged at EUR 200 per night per person for accommodation, EUR 35 per day per person for meals, and actual travel expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ETHIACK sells a SaaS-based autonomous ethical hacking platform that combines AI-powered pentesting agents (called Hackians) with expert human insight to continuously discover, validate and prioritize real security risks across external, internal, mobile, cloud and authentication assets. Customers subscribe to continuous pentesting, attack surface management, and compliance-ready reporting (ISO, SOC2, PCI, DORA) under annual or monthly plans, with a 30-day free trial for self-serve onboarding and on-demand testing services for enterprise scope expansions.

Product overview

Ethiack offers an autonomous ethical hacking platform for continuous security as a unified product portfolio. The core platform combines AI-powered pentesting agents (Hackian) with continuous attack surface management, delivering validated vulnerability findings with proof-of-exploitation. The SeeTestAct cycle operates continuously: See provides complete attack surface visibility (external, internal, third-party, supply chain), Test delivers autonomous AI pentesting via Hackian with validated exploitable findings, and Act provides prioritized risks with compliance-ready reporting for ISO, SOC2, PCI, and DORA. Key modules include External Assets Pentesting, Internal Network Environments (via Ethiack Beacon), Mobile Assets Pentesting, Cloud Pentesting (upcoming), Authentication Pentesting, and Credentials Discovery. The Ethiack Portal serves as the unified interface integrating these capabilities with API and Integrations access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ethiack Platform Autonomous ethical hacking SaaS platform that combines AI-powered pentesting agents (Hackian) with expert human insight to continuously uncover, validate and prioritize real security risks across external, internal, third-party and supply chain assets, delivered 24/7. Targets enterprise security teams and SaaS companies via subscription with optional on-demand testing.
• Hackian Ethiack's flagship agentic AI pentester that autonomously discovers, exploits, and validates vulnerabilities across external assets, internal networks, mobile applications, cloud environments, authentication systems, and credentials. Operates continuously with event-driven testing triggered by code changes or infrastructure updates.
• Ethiack Portal Unified web interface and service access point to the Ethiack Platform, enabling self-serve signup, 30-day free trial, programmatic access via API and integrations, and consolidated delivery of continuous AI pentesting and attack surface management.
• On-Demand Testing Services Additional testing scope beyond base subscription, including on-premises testing events with reimbursed travel costs (accommodation EUR 200/night/person, meals EUR 35/day/person, actual travel expenses). Used by enterprise customers needing deeper or bespoke engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30X faster vulnerability discovery compared to manual pentesting
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Google for StartupscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2024Selected for Google for Startups 2024 Growth Academy: AI for Cybersecurity cohort. The program supports early-stage companies using AI for cybersecurity solutions. Ethiack was featured alongside LetsData, ShareID (which authenticated 12 million attendees for 2024 Paris Olympics), Bfore.AI, and Kriptos.
• Instituto Pedro NunesminorOthers · 1 January 2024Instituto Pedro Nunes is a technology and business incubator in Coimbra, Portugal where Ethiack is headquartered. This represents a location/incubator relationship rather than a commercial partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Cobalt:

Direct peers

• Cobalt: Cobalt runs a Pentest as a Service (PtaaS) platform combining a global crowdsourced tester network with on-demand and continuous pentest workflows. It overlaps with Ethiack in delivering pentesting outcomes to enterprise security teams, though more crowd-sourced than AI-autonomous.
• Bugcrowd: Bugcrowd operates a crowdsourced cybersecurity platform offering bug bounties, vulnerability disclosure, and pentest as a service. Like HackerOne, it represents the human-driven alternative to Ethiack's AI-led continuous testing approach.
• Horizon3.ai: Horizon3.ai offers NodeZero, an autonomous pentesting platform that continuously identifies and validates exploitable vulnerabilities across on-premises and cloud environments. Like Ethiack, it emphasizes proof-of-exploit validation and AI-driven continuous testing for enterprise customers.
• AttackIQ: AttackIQ operates the Security Optimization Platform, an automated breach and attack simulation solution that validates security controls against the MITRE ATT&CK framework. It is a direct competitor in continuous security validation and exposure management for enterprises.
• Cymulate: Cymulate delivers an exposure management platform combining attack surface management, continuous automated red teaming, and breach and attack simulation. It directly competes with Ethiack's combined ASM + AI pentesting offering for mid-market and enterprise buyers.
• SafeBreach: SafeBreach provides a breach and attack simulation (BAS) platform that continuously validates security controls by safely executing attack scenarios. It competes with Ethiack in continuous, automated offensive security validation for enterprise SOC and security teams.
• Bishop Fox: Bishop Fox is a leading offensive security consulting firm offering traditional pentesting, attack surface management, and red team services. It competes with Ethiack in the enterprise pentest market and serves many of the same regulated industries.

Broad incumbents

• Trustwave: Trustwave is a large managed security services provider offering MDR, penetration testing, and consulting across global enterprises. It represents an incumbent alternative to Ethiack in the broader cybersecurity services market, especially for regulated and large multinational customers.
• NCC Group: NCC Group is a large global cybersecurity services firm providing pentesting, red teaming, threat intelligence, and managed detection & response. It is a broader incumbent alternative to Ethiack for enterprises seeking full-service offensive security engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ethiack

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors10 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ETHIACK