Blue Hexagon
AcquiredSunnyvale, US · Founded 2017 · Delaware corporation · 3 known investors
Acquired by Qualys October 2022 · $10M · source ↗
Deep-learning network and cloud threat-detection company whose assets and staff were acquired by Qualys in 2022.
Founders & leadership
Blue Hexagon was founded in 2017 by Nayeem Islam and Saumitra Das.
Board
Investors · 3
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$5.9M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2017–2019
▶$5.9MraisedOct 2017 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Eric VishriaDirector
- Nayeem IslamExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter
- Offering amount
- $6M
- Amount sold
- $5.9M
- First sale
- Sep 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2017
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Founded by former Qualcomm machine-learning and security leaders Nayeem Islam and Saumitra Das, Blue Hexagon emerged from stealth in 2019 with an appliance and software platform that inspected network and cloud traffic and classified threats on first encounter. The company later positioned the system as Cloud Threat Detection and Response for public-cloud, container, storage and network telemetry. Qualys acquired specified assets for $10 million in cash on October 4, 2022, hired all employees, and folded the technology into its Cloud Platform, VMDR, EDR/XDR and threat-analytics work; this was an asset acquisition, not clearly a purchase of every corporate share.
Founding story
Islam and Das applied experience from Qualcomm, IBM, Microsoft Research, Intel and US-CERT to build deep-learning security classification able to act at network speed.
Business model
Enterprise cybersecurity software sold to security teams, initially via appliances/software and later cloud threat-detection deployments.
Enterprise subscription or license contracts; historical prices and revenue were not disclosed.
Traction
Raised $37 million, had about 30 staff when it emerged from stealth, named Heffernan Insurance as an early public customer, and reported a perfect result in a PCSL evaluation; buyer filings say the acquired business contributed only a few hundred thousand dollars of Q4 2022 revenue.
Latest developments
Qualys subsequently described using Blue Hexagon technology to extend cloud-scale deep-learning AI and predictive threat analytics across its platform.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, ownership, risks & controversies
Market position
Venture-backed network detection and response / cloud threat detection startup ultimately acquired for technology and talent by Qualys.
Claimed detection of unknown and zero-day threats without signatures or sandbox delays, with real-time blocking and broad cloud/network coverage.
Technology
Deep neural networks trained on diverse malicious and benign samples; agentless inspection of network, container, storage and cloud telemetry; first-encounter classification in sub-second timeframes.
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise sales and security-channel relationships, supported by independent efficacy testing and public reference customers.
Large enterprises adopting public cloud and organizations needing high-speed network malware and threat detection.
Financial services, cloud-intensive enterprises, security operations teams and regulated organizations.
Geography
US-headquartered enterprise vendor; product addressed public-cloud and network environments globally.
History
Founded in 2017; raised a $6 million Benchmark-led Series A that October; emerged from stealth after a $31 million Benchmark/Altimeter Series B in February 2019; shifted messaging from network threat protection toward cloud threat detection and response; sold certain assets to Qualys for $10 million cash in October 2022 and the full team joined Qualys.
Ownership
Qualys owns the acquired Blue Hexagon assets and employs the transferred team; the residual status of Blue Hexagon Inc. is not publicly documented.
Risks & controversies
The $10 million asset price was far below disclosed venture capital raised; historical efficacy figures were largely vendor claims or a commissioned test. Exact revenue, customer count, valuation, cap table and residual corporate disposition are undisclosed.
Compiled by commissioned research from 9 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Customers & partners
Named customers · 1
Relationships the company or its partners disclosed publicly — case studies, joint announcements, press.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filings$10 million cash asset purchase; all employees joined Qualys and technology was slated for platform integration.
Publicly launched its deep-learning network threat-protection platform alongside Series B financing.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 2
corporate structure▸Research sources · 9
primary sources listed
- Qualys 2024 Annual ReportQualys · sec filing
- Qualys Q4 FY2022 prepared remarksQualys · earnings material
- Qualys Acquires Blue Hexagon's AI/Machine Learning PlatformQualys · acquirer press release
9 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Blue Hexagon do?
- Deep-learning network and cloud threat-detection company whose assets and staff were acquired by Qualys in 2022.
- Who founded Blue Hexagon?
- Blue Hexagon was founded by Nayeem Islam, Saumitra Das in 2017.
- Who are Blue Hexagon's investors?
- Blue Hexagon's investors include Altimeter Capital, Harrison Metal, Benchmark.
- How much funding has Blue Hexagon raised?
- Blue Hexagon has disclosed $5.9M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.
- Where is Blue Hexagon headquartered?
- Blue Hexagon is headquartered in Sunnyvale, US.