Our Investment in Twenty: Industrial-Scale Cyber Operations
America’s offensive cyber operators are among the best in the world. But the mission in front of them is growing faster and more complex by the day: machine-speed adversaries, dense target sets, siloed intelligence sources, and workflows that demand extraordinary coordination. As cyber becomes a central element of national security, the next era of operations requires an AI-driven platform built for speed, scale, and human control.
Enter Twenty.
Twenty is building the first end-to-end cyber operations platform for U.S. agencies, enabling analysts to identify and pursue multiple targets in parallel rather than one at a time. They are transforming cyber operations from bespoke and artisanal mission workflows to AI-enabled and highly scalable machine-driven operations. Importantly, Twenty does all of this while keeping human operators in control of every consequential decision.
No team is better equipped to build this tool than Twenty’s. Before founding the company, Joe Lin, Leo Olson, and Pete Sorrentino built and scaled the National Security Division at Expanse through its acquisition by Palo Alto Networks, where they went on to lead the government product business. Joe is one of the most respected and influential leaders in the sector and frequently testifies before Congress on the future of U.S. cyber strategy. Leo, meanwhile, brings more than two decades of cyber operations and signals intelligence experience from the U.S. Army and Intelligence Community. Pete brings rare experience scaling national security software, from building Expanse’s public sector business to leading growth, product, and customer functions for U.S. and allied national security customers at Palo Alto Networks. They are joined by Skyler Onken, among the most accomplished cyber operators in the U.S. military, ensuring that the platform is built by and for the people who will use it in the field. It is an n-of-1 combination of operational expertise, trusted government relationships, and a track record of building and scaling national security software that actually ships.
Throughout the diligence process, we were struck by hearing again and again how urgent the need is for this kind of capability, and how special Twenty is—it’s rare to hear such resounding endorsements of both product and team. In a market defined by historically slow software procurement and adoption, Twenty was described as “having caught fire with incredible momentum,” and as “the first call when the government needs help.”
Today, we announced we are leading Twenty’s Series B. To Joe and the rest of the team: Welcome to the Accel Family, and thank you for the opportunity to support your mission!
