Company profile
Specular
Outside-in agents that probe the internet-facing attack surface and safely prove which weaknesses an attacker could use (external attack-path validation); terms Undisclosed.
- Status
- Acquired by Cogent · Nov 10, 2026Cogent (private; $42M Series A Feb 2026, valuation Undisclosed) agreed to acquire Google-backed Specular, announced Nov 10, 2026; terms Undisclosed. Founder Peyton Smith (ex-CrowdStrike red team lead) becomes Cogent's Head of Offensive Security (Cogent / PR Newswire). Source
- Latest funding
- Undisclosed
- Last updated
Categories
Funding & valuation
Funding: Undisclosed — no round recorded in the CyberMerge Funding Tracker.
Research map notes
- Research map · Vulnerability Management · Acquired Cogent (private; $42M Series A Feb 2026, valuation Undisclosed) agreed to acquire Google-backed Specular, announced Nov 10, 2026; terms Undisclosed. Founder Peyton Smith (ex-CrowdStrike red team lead) becomes Cogent's Head of Offensive Security (Cogent / PR Newswire). Source (recorded Nov 12, 2026)
Competitors
Same-category peers from CyberMerge Research maps, Startup Radar and What's The Use tags.
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- ThreatBookPrivateChina-origin NDR / threat detection platform; Gartner NDR Niche Player (2025 MQ).
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- Reach SecurityPrivateSecurity-control posture: reads the live configuration of the security tools a company already owns, shows…
- Rapid7Public · RPDVulnerability management and MDR-oriented detection for security operations.
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- HadrianPrivateAgentic offensive security: Atlas continuously maps the external attack surface and uses AI agents to…
- Horizon3.aiPrivateAutonomous pentesting (NodeZero) that safely attacks production, chains real attack paths, guides fixes and…
- Lean SuperIntelligencePrivateOn-prem, self-improving cybersecurity LLMs: LSI-Offense-1 finds and validates vulnerabilities; LSI-Defense-1…
- PenteraPrivateScaled AEV vendor (1,200+ enterprises; >$100M ARR per Jan 2026 release); Series D $60M at over $1B (Mar…
- XBOWPrivateAutonomous offensive security for applications: AI agents find and exploit vulnerabilities and validate each…
On the desk
- M&A Activity · Nov 10, 2026 Cogent agreed to acquire Specular, a Google-backed startup whose AI agents test attack paths from the open internet. Terms Undisclosed. Cogent / PR Newswire
Figures appear only as recorded in CyberMerge data, with source and date. “Undisclosed” means no published figure in our data. Editorial, not investment advice. Last updated . Spot an error? Tell the desk.
