OpenAI has confirmed its acquisition of Promptfoo, a cybersecurity startup specializing in testing and securing AI systems. The deal could strengthen protections for AI agents as the technology becomes more widely deployed across industries. The startup has 11 employees and has raised a total of $22.68 million with a post-valuation of $85.5 million as of July 2025.
‘We’re excited to welcome the Promptfoo team and continue building the tools enterprises need to deploy secure, reliable AI,’ OpenAI said.
Promptfoo, an AI security platform, helps companies test and secure their AI systems during development. The move aims to make AI coworkers safer and more reliable for businesses. It makes real-world workflows easier. Once the acquisition is completed, Promptfoo’s technology will be integrated into OpenAI Frontier. It is a platform for building and managing AI-powered assistants, which are also known as AI coworkers.
Promptfoo announced in July that it had raised a $18.4 million Series A round. It was led by Insight Partners and also included Andreessen Horowitz.
Global companies are using AI agents for real work. Ensuring their safety and reliability has become very important.
“As enterprises deploy AI coworkers into real workflows, evaluation, security, and compliance become foundational requirements. Enterprises need systematic ways to test agent behavior, detect risks before deployment, and maintain clear records to support oversight, governance, and accountability over time,” said OpenAI regarding the deal.
With Promptfoo’s technology integrated into Frontier, enterprises will be able to run automated security tests directly within the platform. These tests will help detect risks such as prompt injections, jailbreaks, data leaks, tool misuse, and out-of-policy agent behaviours.
OpenAI has been acquiring startups and tech executives in recent months amid the growing competition in the AI market. In January, OpenAI acquired the health-care tech startup Torch for roughly $60 million. In February, OpenAI hired Peter Steinberger, who created the popular OpenClaw tool used by developers to build AI agents.
Also Read: OpenAI Revenue Climbs to $25 Billion as Corporate AI Spending Accelerates
“As AI agents become more connected to real data and systems, securing and validating them is more challenging and important than ever,” Promptfoo CEO Ian Webster said in a statement. “Joining OpenAI lets us accelerate this work, bringing stronger security, safety, and governance capabilities to the teams building real-world AI systems.”
OpenAI also plans to make security and evaluation core to the development workflow. Another key feature will be improved monitoring and reporting. Organizations will be able to document tests, monitor changes over time, and more.
AI agents are now more autonomous and widely deployed and securing them against emerging cyber threats is becoming even more critical. OpenAI’s move to acquire Promptfoo highlights the growing need for specialized security tools to test, monitor, and protect AI systems in an increasingly complex digital landscape.