Aikido Security, the Belgian cybersecurity company that became a unicorn earlier this year, has acquired Cyberly, a Warsaw-based startup that trains employees to recognise AI-powered attacks. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Aikido acquired Cyberly to build Noon, a new platform that combines email and device protection, attack simulations and staff training. In parallel, Aikido also acquired the Belgian company Outkept, whose email protection and phishing training tools form the other part of the platform. Warsaw will be one of Noon’s development hubs. All four Cyberly co-founders are staying on to build the platform, and Aikido plans to gradually grow the team in Poland.
Founded in 2022, Aikido helps more than 150,000 teams, including SoundCloud, Niantic and Deel, find and fix security flaws in code, cloud and applications, and reached a $1 billion valuation in January. In January 2026, the company raised a $60 million Series B at a $1 billion valuation, becoming the fastest European cybersecurity company to reach unicorn status.
From launch to exit in two years
Cyberly was founded in 2024 by Alex Horlach, Evgeny Chamtonau, Pavel Hraznykh and Andrew Labadzinski, joining a growing group of cybersecurity startups in CEE. The startup built an AI-based platform for managing risks that come from employee behavior. It tests staff with realistic attack simulations, runs training automatically and shows companies how their teams use AI tools. Before the acquisition, its solutions protected more than 300,000 people across over 200 organizations.
The company was backed by Zone II Ventures, KAYA VC, Andrena and Octopus Ventures. Revolut co-founder Vlad Yatsenko supported Cyberly from the start as an adviser and investor, according to MamStartup.
“Attackers don’t always have to break into software when they can simply trick the people who use it,”
— said Alex Horlach, co-founder of Cyberly.
What Noon will do
Noon is aimed at attacks in which criminals use AI to impersonate people employees know, combining cloned voices, convincing emails and fake login pages. With the new platform, Aikido extends its offering from software security to employee security, which also opens it up to companies that don’t build their own applications.
“The cybersecurity industry has long treated software protection and employee protection as two separate worlds,”
— said Willem Delbare, CEO of Aikido Security.
Founded in Belgium in 2022, Aikido helps companies find and fix security vulnerabilities in code, cloud infrastructure and applications. More than 150,000 teams use its tools, including SoundCloud, Niantic, Runway and Deel.
Cyberly is the latest in a series of acquisitions by the company.