Two former leaders of IBM's X-Force Red team have launched an offensive cybersecurity startup named RemoteThreat. CEO Chris Thompson and CTO Shawn Jones secured $7 million in pre-seed funding for the new venture. The company builds a platform that uses artificial intelligence to plan, execute, and adapt offensive cyber operations.
Thompson and Jones previously managed X-Force Red, where their team tested nuclear power plants, critical infrastructure, and major banks. In May 2024, Thompson described how X-Force used AI to break into a semiconductor manufacturer network in eight hours. The pair also created Offensive AI Con, an invitation-only research event.
RemoteThreat employs 15 staff members including senior operators, researchers, engineers, and malware developers. These personnel previously worked with X-Force Adversary Services, Mandiant, SpecterOps, Dreadnode, Bugcrowd, Microsoft, defense contractors, and government agencies. The startup claims its platform gives defenders and government operators access to AI speed and scale.
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Existing customers include a major bank, a securities exchange operator, a large US healthcare company, and a leading AI lab. Thompson stated the goal is to prepare Fortune 500 organizations to simulate nation-state level attacks and provide the government with targeting tools. The platform consists of eight connected systems covering mission planning, command and control, implants, initial access, advanced attack capabilities, obfuscation, analysis, and AI-assisted operations.
Access to the platform is restricted to vetted enterprises, defense contractors, and US government customers. The system utilizes small, purpose-built models alongside options to connect models from OpenAI or Anthropic, or open-weight alternatives. These models gain access to 1,000 tools built from scratch by the company, and operators can run tests from a Codex terminal.
RemoteThreat partnered with Talon Defense to supply AI and cyber technology to national security, intelligence, and defense customers. The startup also teamed up with the Nakasone Group, a national security advisory firm founded by retired US Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, who serves as a strategic adviser. Furthermore, RemoteThreat joined US Special Operations Command's SOF RACER consortium.
Washington pushes for private offensive cyber
The launch coincides with a broader push by Washington for private sector involvement in offensive cyber operations. The US Cyber Strategy published in March urges closer industry cooperation, while an August presidential memorandum established a program for vetted US companies to conduct cyber operations against foreign cybercrime groups under federal oversight. Thompson expects the government to increase its use of commercially developed offensive cyber products.
The second edition of Offensive AI Con is scheduled for early October.
