Aikido Acquires Root to Defend Open Source From AI-Powered Attacks

Aikido Security announced today its acquisition of Root, a strategic move designed to enhance the security of open-source software against the escalating threat of AI-powered cyberattacks. This acquisition is a direct response to the increasing sophistication and speed with which artificial intelligence tools are being used by attackers to discover and exploit vulnerabilities in widely used open-source components. The company highlights that open-source software underpins nearly every application globally, making it a prime target and a significant entry point for malicious actors. A core problem addressed by this acquisition is the prevalence of unpatched vulnerabilities in production systems, with critical flaws like Log4Shell from 2021 still active in millions of systems. AI's ability to accelerate the exploitation of such threats means that almost a third of known vulnerabilities are now being exploited on or before their disclosure date. Aikido's co-founder and CEO, Willem Delbare, emphasized the difficulty companies face in patching open-source software. Traditional options often involve upgrading to newer versions, which can introduce breaking changes or new malware, or attempting to patch every dependency manually, a task deemed impossible for most organizations. The integration of Root's technology into Aikido Libraries offers a novel solution: applying patches directly to vulnerabilities without forcing disruptive upgrades or migrations. This approach generates hundreds of verified patches daily, ensuring that supply chain security can be effectively managed for a broader range of companies. Furthermore, Aikido is committing to an industry-first initiative by providing backported fixes for critical, actively exploited open-source vulnerabilities to the community across supported ecosystems. This ensures that patches are returned to the projects that need them, rather than being kept behind a paywall, fostering a more secure open-source ecosystem for everyone. This acquisition follows a series of strategic moves by Aikido, including the acquisition of AI code-review startup Trag and autonomous pen-testing companies Allseek and Haicker in 2025. Aikido recently achieved unicorn status, underscoring its rapid growth and commitment to building self-securing software for modern development teams. The company's unified security platform aims to secure every aspect of the software development lifecycle, from code to runtime, helping teams reduce risk without compromising development speed.