Traceable AI
API security and observability platform, now Harness's AppSec unit after its 2025 merger.
On the record
Checkpoint: Harness closes Codecov acquisition and reports next ARR update
The call
Traceable AI no longer exists as a standalone company, its fate now tied entirely to whether Harness can hold off GitHub, GitLab, and Akamai while digesting its own acquisitions.
Traceable AI made software that finds and stops attacks on application programming interfaces (APIs), the connections that let software talk to each other. It is now part of a bigger company called Harness. Harness has real revenue and is growing fast, but Microsoft, GitHub, and other big tech companies are already selling similar products, and artificial intelligence tools are making basic API testing easier for anyone. The key question is whether Harness can keep its workers and keep Traceable's product strong while it is buying other companies and trying to combine everything together.
Why
01
AI pressure: Generic LLM agents for API discovery and pentesting. AI agents can automate basic API scanning and pentest labor, but can't replicate embedded tracing data or regulated customer accountability. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: GitHub Advanced Security, GitLab, Akamai (via Noname), Thales (via Imperva). GitHub, GitLab, and Akamai already bundle API and runtime security into their platforms, squeezing standalone pricing and positioning. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Deep tracing instrumentation, per-customer behavioral data, and regulated industry lock-in that generic scanners can't copy.
What would change this call
Harness reports Q1-Q2 2026 ARR growth rate versus the 50%+ pace claimed in Dec 2025. Shows whether the combined Harness-Traceable business is sustaining growth or slowing.
Harness headcount count reported in press or filings by mid-2026 versus the ~1.2K figure cited for Jan 2026. Shows whether post-merger cuts stabilized or deepened further.
GitHub Advanced Security or GitLab announce runtime API security features bundled into their core platforms. Shows whether the incumbent tools are closing the moat around dedicated API security.
Harness headcount count reported in press or filings by mid-2026 versus the ~1.2K figure cited for Jan 2026. Shows whether post-merger cuts stabilized or deepened further.
GitHub Advanced Security or GitLab announce runtime API security features bundled into their core platforms. Shows whether the incumbent tools are closing the moat around dedicated API security.
Key numbers
- Harness valued at $5.5B after $240M Series E
- Combined entity on track for $250M ARR, 50%+ YoY
- Reported Harness headcount drop, 1.6K to 1.2K
Named risks
- Post-merger integration disruption could reshuffle or shrink the ex-Traceable AppSec team.
- Incumbent consolidation by Akamai/Noname and Thales/Imperva squeezes standalone API security value proposition.
- Generic LLM-based agents could commoditize basic API discovery and pentesting tasks.
- Harness's ongoing acquisition spree (Qwiet AI, Codecov) could dilute product focus away from API security.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Akamai (via Noname Security) | gaining on | Akamai acquired Noname Security for about $450M in June 2024, consolidating API security |
| Thales (via Imperva) | gaining on | Thales has owned Imperva since late 2023, bundling API security into a broader suite |
| GitHub and GitLab | contesting | Both could bundle runtime API security into core DevOps platforms, a stated 2026 threat scenario |
| Salt Security, Wallarm, Cequence Security | contesting | Named as closest direct dedicated API security peers competing for the same budget in 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Traceable AI still an independent company in 2026?
- No. Traceable AI merged into Harness Inc. via a definitive agreement announced February 10, 2025, with the deal closing by March 4, 2025. It now operates as a product line called Harness API Security or Traceable AppSec, not a standalone company.
- Who owns Traceable AI now?
- Harness Inc. owns Traceable AI, having merged with it in a deal announced February 10, 2025 and closed by March 4, 2025. Traceable co-founder Sanjay Nagaraj became GM of Harness's Application Security business after the merger.
- Is Harness, Traceable AI's parent, profitable and growing in 2026?
- Harness reported it was on track to exceed $250M ARR for 2025 with 50%+ year-over-year growth and 1,000+ enterprise customers, as stated in a December 11, 2025 report tied to its $240M Series E at a $5.5B valuation. Profitability was not disclosed.
- Could AI replace Traceable AI's API security product?
- Generic LLM agents can commoditize basic API discovery and pentesting, an area competitors like Astra already brand as AI-powered. But Traceable's embedded distributed-tracing instrumentation, per-customer proprietary traffic data, and regulated-customer relationships in finance and healthcare are harder for generic AI tools to replicate as of 2026.
- Who is Traceable AI's biggest competitor?
- Incumbent security giants have consolidated the API security category by acquisition: Akamai bought Noname Security for about $450M in June 2024, and Thales owns Imperva since late 2023. GitHub and GitLab are also potential threats if they bundle runtime API security.
- What is the founding story of Traceable AI?
- Traceable AI was founded in 2018 in San Francisco by Jyoti Bansal (also founder of AppDynamics, sold to Cisco for $3.7B in 2017) and Sanjay Nagaraj, with the product publicly launching in 2020 alongside a $20M Series A led by Unusual Ventures and BIG Labs.
Timeline
- 2026-07Harness launches Autonomous Worker Agents to automate post-code testing, security, deployment
- 2026-06Harness acquires Codecov, expanding its DevSecOps and testing stack
- 2025-12-11Harness raises $240M Series E led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives at $5.5B valuation
- 2025-09Harness acquires Qwiet AI, expanding AI-driven security capabilities
- 2025-03-04Harness-Traceable merger deal closes, Traceable folded into Harness platform
- 2025-02-10Harness and Traceable announce definitive merger agreement
- 2025-02Harness acquires Rig.dev
- 2024Traceable raises about $30M led by Citi Ventures and IVP at roughly $500M valuation
- 2022-05-02Traceable raises $60M Series B led by IVP, valuation exceeds $450M
- 2020-07Traceable launches publicly with $20M Series A from Unusual Ventures and BIG Labs
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- AppDynamics Founder's New Security Venture, Traceable, Exits Stealth With $20 Million
- Traceable Launches with $20 Million Series A Funding
- Traceable AI nabs $60M to secure app APIs (2022-05-02)
- Harness Merges With API Security Startup Traceable, Eyes $250M In ARR
- Traceable by Harness Funding & Investor Information (2026-07-10)
- Harness and Traceable Announce Merger to Shape the Future of AI-Driven Software Delivery (2025-02-10)
- Blog: Exciting News: We've Merged Harness and Traceable
- Traceable AI: Now Harness API Security (2025) (2026-02-01)
- Harness and Traceable announce merger to bring API security to AI-driven software delivery (2025-02-10)
- Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise (2025-12-11)
- Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise (2025-12-11)
- Harness Revenue, Valuation & Funding History (2025) (2026-07-02)