Businesses of all sizes face relentless, sophisticated cyberattacks hidden within their production traffic. As digital interactions have evolved — now predominantly driven by APIs, microservices, and LLMs — the attack surface organizations must defend has expanded dramatically. Legacy security systems, originally designed for simpler environments, are increasingly overwhelmed by the complexity and speed of modern attacks.
We’ve entered into an era where AI-driven efficiency is no longer optional — it’s essential. Security defenses must evolve at the same velocity as threats. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our Series A investment and partnership with Impart Security, an agentic approach to runtime security empowering CISOs and security teams to proactively take action.
The Need for AI-Driven Efficiency in Security
Despite significant productivity gains from AI in other domains, we’re still in the early stages of leveraging AI to transform how CISOs utilize security tools. Today’s security stacks frequently resemble a patchwork of point solutions, each addressing isolated issues but lacking the context and functionality to solve the big picture challenge. This fragmented approach often increases operational complexity, inflates costs, and leads to worse security outcomes.
Fragmentation in Runtime Security
Consider WAF and API security products which are often operated in silos, exacerbating tool sprawl. With web traffic increasingly morphing into API traffic, there is a pressing need for an integrated approach that provides broader contextual visibility and actionable insights without the operational burden. Furthermore, structural challenges in the CDN market have left many products falling short of protecting against the threats they are designed to mitigate, and it’s no surprise customers are left feeling dissatisfied. The time has come for solutions that leverage AI not only for detection, but for comprehensive, actionable, and automated responses. CISOs deserve better.
Enter Impart Security: Doubling Down on Actions
When we first met Impart Co-Founder and CEO Jonathan (JD) DiVencenzo, we immediately recognized his deep commitment to fixing runtime security. Second-time founders often possess unique insights, as recently demonstrated by the remarkable journey from founding Adallom to building Wiz — soon to be acquired by Google for $32 billion. Even rarer is a second-time founding team with such extensive domain expertise. Having previously worked together at Signal Sciences — a WAF leader acquired by Fastly for more than $775 million — this team brings unmatched customer empathy derived through direct experience and an incredible pace of execution. In many respects, Impart Security is the “spiritual successor” to Signal Sciences.
Today, we are honored to announce that we are leading their $12 million Series A, with Karan Mehandru joining their board.
Impart is redefining runtime security — tackling the critical “last mile” of AI. Where precision, reliability, and decisive action matter most, Impart is earning customers’ trust. Their innovative platform is powered by intelligent runtime agents, autonomously performing real-time actions like SQL injection blocking and custom business logic enforcement. Unlike detection-focused alternatives that ultimately burden security teams with more tasks, Impart doubles down on real-time responses, offering robust, proactive defenses for mission-critical environments where swift, accurate decisions safeguard essential business assets.
At the heart of Impart’s platform is a thoughtfully designed user experience tailored to security teams of all skill levels, enabling them to implement “security as code”. Technical teams can harness the power and flexibility of a code-driven approach in common developer languages, while less technical teams can effortlessly define sophisticated security logic in natural language. This customer-centric approach ensures that security teams can effectively manage evolving threats and realize the benefits of AI-driven efficiency.
Our Commitment to Security
At Madrona, we have had the privilege of working with exceptional founders dedicated to protecting customers through innovation and execution. Cybersecurity has long been a central thesis for us, guiding our partnerships with visionary teams and security leaders that redefine what’s possible. Impart Security aligns seamlessly with this vision, and we are excited to partner with JD and the entire Impart team as they redefine the future of runtime security. Thank you for trusting us to be your partners! If you want to see what the autonomous, agentic future of security looks like, go to www.impart.security
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