Identity security, AI governance and cloud-native defense firms dominated a new ranking of private cybersecurity startups released Tuesday, offering a snapshot of where enterprise security buyers and investors believe the market is heading in 2026.
Venture firm Notable Capital, working with Morgan Stanley, published its annual “Rising in Cyber 2026” report and accompanying list of 30 private cybersecurity startups selected through voting by roughly 150 CISOs and senior security executives. The companies were segmented into early-, mid- and late-stage groups based on funding raised as of Q1 2026.
Among the companies named were 1Password, Cyera, Island, Socket and Torq. Notable said the startups on the list have collectively raised more than $6.9 billion.
The cohort spans identity and access management, AI security, SaaS governance, software supply chain defense, data security and security operations automation.
The report underscores how CISOs are facing mounting pressure to secure AI systems already moving into production faster than governance controls can keep pace.
According to the survey, 71% of organizations represented already have AI agents operating in production environments. Yet only 11% of respondents said they have mature, well-integrated or best-in-class tooling for securing AI workloads.
“That is a dangerous gap,” the report warned.
Identity and access management emerged as one of the top AI-related concerns among surveyed CISOs, reflecting growing anxiety around non-human identities, AI agents and machine-driven access privileges.
“The market has not figured those two domains out,” said Alex Green, CISO with Delta Dental Plans Association, referring to identity and observability for AI systems. “In a perfect world, AI should be able to observe how agentic identities operate and infer what data they actually need to access and under which circumstances.”
The findings align with broader venture and acquisition trends reshaping cybersecurity markets.
The report cited IDC estimates projecting the cybersecurity market will grow from $153 billion in 2025 to roughly $255 billion by 2029, driven by double-digit growth in identity security, cloud-native application protection and data security.
Meanwhile, strategic cybersecurity M&A volume surged to roughly $81 billion in 2025, more than four times 2024 levels, according to Morgan Stanley data included in the report. Major acquisitions cited included Palo Alto Networks’ purchases of CyberArk and Chronosphere, along with ServiceNow’s acquisition of Armis.
The release also underscores how rapidly investor attention has shifted toward AI-native security startups.
Series A and B cybersecurity funding topped $5.5 billion in 2025, with investors increasingly backing startups focused on AI infrastructure security, agent governance and automated security operations.
Five startups drawing the most attention
- Cyera — Emerging as a major player in AI-era data security and DSPM as enterprises rush to secure sensitive cloud and AI training data.
- Island — One of the highest-profile enterprise browser startups, positioning the browser itself as a managed security and productivity workspace.
- Socket — Known for identifying malicious open-source packages and developer ecosystem supply chain attacks.
- Torq — Focused on AI-assisted SOC automation aimed at reducing analyst workload and accelerating incident response.
- 1Password — Expanded from password management into enterprise identity, access governance and device trust controls.
The full list of Rising in Cyber 2026 honorees is below and the report can be found at the Notable website.
Notable Capital: Rising in Cyber 2026
- 1Password
- Abnormal
- Abstract
- Anecdotes
- Beacon Security
- Clover Security
- Cyera
- Descope
- Drata
- Echo Security
- Endor Labs
- Fable Security
- Grip Security
- Harmonic Security
- Island
- Knostic
- Noma Security
- Oligo Security
- Opal Security
- Orca Security
- ProjectDiscovery
- Prophet Security
- RunLayer
- Socket
- Sublime Security
- Terra Security
- Tines
- Token Security
- Tonic AI
- Torq
(Image Credit: Notable Capital)
