Rilian Raises $17.5M Seed for Agentic Defense AI Platform

Rilian, a McLean, Virginia-based startup, raised $17.5 million in a combined seed and seed extension round on April 23, 2026. The investment, led by 8VC, First In, and Tamarack Global, included participation from 8090 Industries, Liquid 2 Ventures, Perot Jain, and Protego Ventures. This capital supports engineering hires, research in agentic AI, and go-to-market strategies across the United States, Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and allied nations. Rilian's core product, Caspian, functions as an agentic security orchestration platform that automates procurement, integration, and deployment of cyber and defense technologies in air-gapped, sovereign cloud, and compliance-restricted environments.

Caspian equips governments, critical infrastructure operators, and enterprises with pre-trained AI agents that enhance analyst productivity, anticipate threats, and capture institutional knowledge. Founded by AI security experts Christian Schnedler, Nick Pompeo, and Dan Fischer, the company addresses inefficiencies in deploying advanced tools amid hybrid conflicts where AI adversaries operate at machine speed. Rilian's prior traction includes a 2025 contract with the UAE Cybersecurity Council to secure national infrastructure using Caspian for operational technology environments, alongside partnerships with SentinelOne, Censys, and SimSpace.

The funding arrives as global cybersecurity spending exceeds $200 billion annually, with public-sector markets projected to grow from $45-50 billion in 2025 to over $70 billion by 2030. Rilian's focus on agentic systems positions it to bridge the gap between innovation hubs and operational deployment for U.S. and allied defense needs, enabling faster responses in cyber, electromagnetic, and physical domains. Investors highlight Caspian's potential as foundational infrastructure for sovereign defense in high-stakes environments.