Hacware

Market position

HacWare competes in the security awareness training and human risk management segment, differentiating on automation, AI-generated adaptive phishing and MSP channel focus. It has been named to CRN's Stellar Startups list in the Security category in 2024 and 2025, was a 2022 TiE50 Award winner at TiEcon, and was a TechCrunch Disrupt 2020 Startup Battlefield finalist.

The company emphasizes fully automated, "set-and-forget" deployment requiring minimal administrator effort, use of natural language processing to determine when and how to phish individual users, adaptive escalation of training for users identified as high risk, and API-level customization for channel partners. Website figures claim a 60 percent reduction in malware outbreaks and 40 percent savings on management and labor cost.

Technology

The platform is built on what the company describes as patent-pending AI. Mining technology searches the web daily for phishing threats, natural language processing is used to determine optimal timing and content for simulated phishing, and AI generates industry-specific phishing scenarios — every few days for users flagged as high risk versus roughly every 21 days for typical users. Behavioral analytics underpin High Risk Monitoring for insider-threat and human-risk detection. The product integrates with Outlook and Gmail, supports Microsoft SSO and a Phish Reporter add-in that works with Microsoft's native reporting tools. The company states data is encrypted at rest and in transit, multiple data storage options are available, and emails are not stored.

Go-to-market

Primarily channel-led, through distributors and MSP marketplaces including TD SYNNEX, Pax8 and Sherweb, supported by a developer/API program, free MSP-facing resources such as a Cybersecurity Awareness Month resource kit, self-serve free trials, and demo requests on the website. Participation in the Northwestern Mutual accelerator (powered by gener8tor) was used to build financial-services-specific capability for MSP partners.

Managed service providers and IT solution providers and their end customers, including small and mid-sized businesses; financial services firms account for roughly 30 percent of the MSP customer base the company serves. The platform is also positioned for organizations with compliance and cyber-insurance training requirements, and earlier coverage noted specialized security awareness training for software developers.

Geography

Founded and originally based in Dallas, Texas; later described as New York-based and, in 2025, as headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Channel partnerships target IT solution providers across North America, and the company describes global cybersecurity education initiatives.

History

An early product, Mystery, was described in February 2019 as an autonomous white-hat hacking application using machine learning and natural language processing that connects to email on installation, automatically runs phishing campaigns, predicts which employees are most at risk and recommends who to train; it launched in January in private release and then moved to public beta. The company was bootstrapped, reached revenue-positive status and was raising its first seed round as of early 2019, and was selected by Google for Startups' Startup Grind for the 2019 Startup Grind Global Conference. It was a TechCrunch Disrupt 2020 Startup Battlefield finalist and a finalist in the D CEO/Dallas Innovates Innovation Awards 2021. A $2.3 million seed round followed in April 2022, alongside an investment from Aura's Innovation Fund in February 2022. Channel partnerships were announced with TD SYNNEX (February 2024), Pax8 (March 2024) and Sherweb (May 2025), and the company received funding from the Google for Startups Fund in June 2024 and a strategic investment from Northwestern Mutual announced in October 2025.

Risks & controversies

The CEO has stated the company is aiming for more funding in the coming year, indicating continued reliance on external capital. Performance and savings figures cited on the company website, such as the 60 percent malware outbreak reduction and labor cost comparisons, are company-reported and not independently verified in the available material.