SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hacktron, a cybersecurity startup founded by elite competitive hackers Zayne Zhang, Mohan Pedhapati, and Harsh Jaiswal, today announced it has raised $2.9 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Crane Venture Partners, with participation from Project Europe, Vercel Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Overlook Ventures, supported by a network of strategic partners and angel investors.
Hacktron is building an AI-powered platform that continuously tests software for vulnerabilities at the pace of modern development: running deep security checks on every code change rather than relying on periodic, manual penetration tests.
“Attackers are already using AI to find and exploit vulnerabilities faster than ever,” said Zayne Zhang, founder of Hacktron. “Most companies are still testing security like it’s a quarterly exercise. We’re building the system that tests every code change like a real attacker would so teams can move fast without shipping risk.”
From CTF Champions to Real-World Vulnerabilities
Hacktron’s founding team comes from the world of competitive hacking, with multiple wins at DEF CON CTF and presentations at top security conferences including DEF CON and Black Hat. That background is already translating into real-world impact.
The company has identified and responsibly disclosed vulnerabilities across widely used software and platforms, including:
- Software used widely by Fortune 500 companies, such as BeyondTrust Remote Support
- Frameworks and infrastructure used by companies like Vercel (Next.js) and Cloudflare
- Developer platforms such as GitHub and GitLab
- Multiple open-source and enterprise systems listed on its public advisory database
Most recently, Hacktron uncovered critical vulnerabilities in the widely used OAuth2 Proxy project, highlighting risks in open-source infrastructure relied on by enterprise teams.
The company has also performed security testing for high-growth technology companies including Perplexity AI and Supabase, using the same AI-driven approach that now underpins its automated platform.
A New Reality: AI Is Accelerating Attacks
Hacktron’s launch comes amid growing concern across the industry that AI is dramatically increasing both the volume and speed of vulnerability discovery, putting pressure on already stretched security teams.
Rather than relying on static scans or surface-level analysis, Hacktron’s platform combines AI with attacker-style techniques to:
- Continuously test every pull request and code change
- Identify deep, exploitable vulnerabilities, not just known patterns
- Reduce false positives compared to traditional scanners and newer AI tools
- Assist developers with remediation so fixes happen in real time
“The best security founders don’t think like defenders, they think like attackers,” said Scott Sage, co-founder and partner at Crane Venture Partners. “What stood out immediately about Hacktron was the team’s ability to combine elite offensive security expertise with a product vision built for how software is actually developed today. AI is changing the economics of both building and breaking software, and Hacktron is creating what modern software teams will need to succeed.”
Built by Hackers, Distributed Like Creators
In addition to its technical credibility, Hacktron benefits from a built-in audience through its team. Hacker and team member Fabian Faessler has built a following of nearly one million subscribers on YouTube, giving the company a direct channel to developers and security practitioners worldwide.
Hacktron plans to pair its funding announcement with new research content, including a deep dive into its recent OAuth2 Proxy findings, as part of a broader effort to educate the market and showcase real-world vulnerabilities.
Early Traction and Growth
Hacktron has generated approximately $240,000 in revenue in its first nine months, strong early validation for a seed-stage company. The new funding will go toward expanding the engineering and security research team, accelerating product development, and scaling go-to-market.
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About Hacktron
Hacktron is an AI-powered cybersecurity company focused on continuously identifying and fixing vulnerabilities in modern software. Founded by elite hackers, the company brings attacker-grade security testing into the development lifecycle, enabling teams to ship faster and more securely. Learn more at https://www.hacktron.ai/
