Belgian cybersecurity startup Aikido hits unicorn status with new funding round

By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM, Jan 14 - Belgium's Aikido Security has raised $60 million from investors led ​by tech-focused private equity firm DST Global ‌at a valuation of $1 billion, the cybersecurity startup said on ‌Wednesday, making it among Europe's first new unicorns of 2026.

Founded in 2022, Aikido's security software helps developers detect and address risk automatically. It counts mobile app ⁠and game developer ‌Niantic, fintech Revolut and music streaming platform SoundCloud among its customers.

"Aikido focuses on ‍developers. The product is really meant for people who write software," CEO Willem Delbare told Reuters in an interview. "You ​could see it as guardrails for writing ‌secure software, especially when you're using AI."

Aikido's latest investor DST was also an early backer of companies including Meta, Spotify, and Alibaba.

"AI is having a material impact on software development, and that impact ⁠will only grow. So we ​need new approaches to security ​like what Aikido is doing," Tom Stafford, managing partner at DST Global, told Reuters.

Aikido, ‍which had ⁠raised $24 million before the latest round, saw its revenue grow five-fold last year, with around ⁠half coming from the United States. Its customer base, meanwhile, ‌nearly tripled.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; ‌Editing by Joe Bavier)