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Hunted Labs lands $3M to find suspicious open source contributors
Hunted Labs, a cybersecurity startup focusing on suspicious open source contributors, has secured a $3 million seed investment from former NSA deputy director George Barnes through Red Cell Partners. Founded by Hayden Smith and others, Hunted Labs aims to enhance transparency in open source software contributions, spurred by past security incidents, and has already landed a significant contract with the Space Development Agency.
Key points
- George Barnes makes a $3M investment in Hunted Labs, an open-source cybersecurity startup.
- Hunted Labs addresses the challenge of identifying contributors to open source software to prevent security vulnerabilities.
- Smith, the founder, recognized the need for a tool to monitor OSS contributors after working on the DoD's Platform One project.
- A notable incident in 2024 highlighted this need when a Microsoft engineer found malicious code in widely used software.
- Hunted Labs has already secured a $1.79M contract with the Space Development Agency, leveraging Smith's DoD contacts.
Why it matters
- The growing reliance on open source software has increased the vulnerability of software supply chains.
- 2025 IT trends emphasize the importance of cybersecurity, particularly with the rise of cyber threats in cloud and OSS environments.
- This investment reflects a trend where experienced defense professionals are transitioning to venture capital and tech startups.
The investment in Hunted Labs marks a significant step in enhancing cybersecurity measures for open source software, addressing a pressing issue in the tech industry while leveraging the founders' strong defense background.