Tenable Holdings, Inc., the exposure management leader, today announced its intent to acquire Apex Security, Inc., an innovator in securing the rapidly expanding AI attack surface. This acquisition will enhance Tenable’s ability to help organizations identify and reduce cyber risk in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Generative AI tools and autonomous systems are rapidly expanding the attack surface, introducing new risks—from shadow AI apps and AI-generated code to synthetic identities and ungoverned cloud services. In 2024, Tenable launched Tenable AI Aware, helping thousands of organizations detect and assess AI usage across their environments. Integrating Apex’s capabilities will build on this foundation by adding governance, policy enforcement, and exposure control for both AI tools organizations use and AI they develop. This aligns with Tenable’s long-term strategy of delivering scalable, unified exposure management as AI adoption accelerates.
“AI dramatically expands the attack surface, creating dynamic, fast-moving risks most organizations aren’t prepared for,” said Steve Vintz, Co-CEO and CFO of Tenable. “Tenable’s strategy is to stay ahead of this expansion—managing and eliminating exposures before they can be exploited.”
“As organizations rapidly adopt AI, now is the critical moment to get ahead of risks before large-scale attacks occur,” added Mark Thurmond, Co-CEO of Tenable. “Apex provides the visibility, context, and control security teams need to proactively reduce AI-generated exposure. It’s a powerful addition to the Tenable One platform and complements our preemptive cybersecurity approach.”
Founded in 2023, Apex quickly gained attention from CISOs and top investors, including Sam Altman (OpenAI), Clem Delangue (Hugging Face), and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. The company has become a pioneer in securing AI use by developers and employees alike—helping organizations manage usage, enforce policy, and ensure compliance at scale.
“The AI attack surface is deeply intertwined with existing security challenges. Treating it as part of exposure management is the smartest approach,” said Matan Derman, CEO and Co-Founder of Apex Security. “We’re excited to join Tenable to help customers manage AI risk holistically, not as a siloed issue but within their broader security environment.”
Tenable expects to deliver integrated Apex capabilities in the second half of 2025 as part of Tenable One—the industry’s most comprehensive exposure management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close later this quarter.