CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Abnormal AI vs Hornetsecurity

Abnormal AI sells a behavioral security platform that protects email, identity, and AI. Hornetsecurity sells a suite of services for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup. CISO Tribune files both under Email security. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Abnormal AI
  • Hornetsecurity
Abnormal AI vs Hornetsecurity: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Abnormal AIAbnormal AI sells a behavioral security platform that protects email, identity, and AI.abnormal.aiHornetsecurityHornetsecurity sells a suite of services for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup.hornetsecurity.com
What it sells
  • Account Takeover Protection[3][12][19]Detects and remediates compromised Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts.
  • Identity Threat Protection[3][11][12][15]Correlates signals to contain threats before and after authentication.
  • Email Productivity[12][18]Moves low-priority promotional email out of the inbox.
  • 365 Total Protection[3][4][7]A suite for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup.
  • 365 Total Backup[3][4][6]Automated Microsoft 365 data backup, recovery and protection.
  • Advanced Threat Protection[3][4][7][14]AI-powered protection of emails and data.
  • DMARC Manager[3][4][15]Safeguards domains against email impersonation, phishing and spoofing with DMARC, DKIM and SPF management.
Categories
Headquarters
San Francisco, United States[1]Not stated on its pages
Founded
2018[1]Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[2][12][14]Series D (USD 250 million round), August 6, 2024[2]Owned by Proofpoint, Inc. since 2025[2]
Named customers
  • Domino’s[4]
  • Avery Dennison[5]
  • Valvoline[6]
  • Ingersoll Rand[7]
  • Save the Children[8]
Not stated on its pages
Recent news
  • November 4, 2026Abnormal AI appointed Don Jeter as Chief Marketing Officer, reporting to the CEO and overseeing the global marketing team.[23]
  • September 24, 2026Abnormal AI previewed four AI Security suite products, including AI Agent Security and AI Cloud Security, with general availability planned for Q4 2026.[9]
  • August 27, 2026Abnormal AI expanded its email security platform with Control Center, Email DLP Rules and upgrades to its AI Phishing Coach.[10]
  • August 19, 2026Abnormal AI and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership, with Abnormal expanding its internal use of OpenAI and joining the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program as an early security partner.[25]
  • July 29, 2026Abnormal AI extended its behavioral security to cover identities, AI systems and insider threats.[13]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen October 23, 2026[14]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Not written yetNot written yet
Last verified
October 10, 2026November 4, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Email security is the primary category of both Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Abnormal AI is also filed under Identity threat detection and response, Workforce AI usage security and AI model and agent security. Hornetsecurity is also filed under Security awareness training, Email authentication and DMARC and Backup and cyber recovery.
  • Abnormal AI lists Account Takeover Protection, Identity Threat Protection and Email Productivity. Hornetsecurity lists 365 Total Protection, 365 Total Backup, Advanced Threat Protection and DMARC Manager.
  • Abnormal AI is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
  • Abnormal AI was founded in 2018.
  • Abnormal AI is privately held. Hornetsecurity is owned by Proofpoint, Inc., since 2025.
  • Abnormal AI's latest recorded funding is Series D (USD 250 million round), dated August 6, 2024.
  • Abnormal AI publicly names Domino’s, Avery Dennison, Valvoline, Ingersoll Rand and Save the Children.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity under Email security as their primary category. Abnormal AI sells a behavioral security platform that protects email, identity, and AI, with products such as Account Takeover Protection and Identity Threat Protection. Hornetsecurity sells a suite of services for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup. Its products include 365 Total Backup, Advanced Threat Protection and DMARC Manager. The overlap is in email security, while Abnormal AI adds identity and AI security offerings and Hornetsecurity adds backup, security awareness training and DMARC management.

Abnormal AI is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, was founded in 2018, and is privately held. Its latest recorded funding round is a Series D of USD 250 million, dated August 6, 2024. Hornetsecurity has been owned by Proofpoint, Inc. since 2025. Hornetsecurity states that over 12,000 partners serve more than 125,000 customers. Abnormal AI names Domino's, Avery Dennison, Valvoline, Ingersoll Rand and Save the Children as customers.

On September 24, 2026, Abnormal AI previewed four AI Security suite products, with general availability planned for Q4 2026. On August 19, 2026, Abnormal AI and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership. Hornetsecurity says its team numbers over 750 specialists and that it has operated for 15 years.

What it sells: Abnormal AI

What Account Takeover Protection does[3][12][19]
Account Takeover Protection learns normal sign-in, device, and behavioral patterns for each user. It remediates a confirmed compromise by signing out all open sessions, blocking access, and forcing a password reset. Abnormal AI says it correlates Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace sign-in signals with communication behavior. It identifies session and token-based attacks that defeat MFA.
What Identity Threat Protection does[3][11][12][15]
Identity Threat Protection correlates signals to contain threats before and after authentication. Abnormal AI says it correlates email, IdP, and SaaS signals into one behavioral model. The model catches privilege misuse and socially-engineered MFA resets.
What Email Productivity does[12][18]
Email Productivity uses behavioral AI to learn what matters to each employee and move low-priority promotional email out of the inbox. It moves detected graymail to a Promotions folder in Outlook or a Graymail label in Gmail. It deploys through API integration with no rules, policies, or quarantine configuration to manage. It supports Passive, Partial, and Active deployment modes.

What it sells: Hornetsecurity

What 365 Total Protection does[3][4][7]
365 Total Protection plans can be onboarded in Hybrid mode. Hornetsecurity offers one package that combines email security, backup, security awareness, access and permission control and domain fraud protection.
What 365 Total Backup does[3][4][6]
The backup and recovery solution covers mailboxes and In-Place Archive mailboxes, Teams, Planner, OneNote, Entra ID Users and Groups, OneDrive for Business accounts, and SharePoint document libraries. It includes unlimited backup storage and restoration and a 4-eye-approval process.
What Advanced Threat Protection does[3][4][7][14]
Hornetsecurity's Sandbox Engine scans email attachments for potential malware by running the file in a virtual, isolated test environment. Hornetsecurity's QR Code Analyzer detects QR codes embedded directly into an email or an image. Real Time Alerts notify an IT security team about acute attacks on the company in real time.
What DMARC Manager does[3][4][15]
DMARC Manager can capture all reports sent by recipient servers back to the sender and aggregate them into a single report. Hornetsecurity describes real-time data on email messages that fail DMARC checks.

Questions about Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity

What do Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity sell?
Abnormal AI sells Account Takeover Protection, Identity Threat Protection and Email Productivity. Hornetsecurity sells 365 Total Protection, 365 Total Backup, Advanced Threat Protection and DMARC Manager.
Are Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity in the same category?
Yes. Email security is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity headquartered?
Abnormal AI is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity founded?
Abnormal AI was founded in 2018.
Who owns Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity?
Abnormal AI is privately held. Abnormal AI's latest recorded funding is Series D (USD 250 million round), dated August 6, 2024. Hornetsecurity is owned by Proofpoint, Inc., since 2025.
Which customers do Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity name?
Abnormal AI publicly names Domino’s, Avery Dennison, Valvoline, Ingersoll Rand and Save the Children.
What have Abnormal AI and Hornetsecurity announced recently?
November 4, 2026: Abnormal AI appointed Don Jeter as Chief Marketing Officer, reporting to the CEO and overseeing the global marketing team.

About Abnormal AI

Abnormal AI sells a behavioral security platform that protects email, identity, and AI. Abnormal says AI-generated attacks are often too subtle for humans to see and too new for traditional threat intel to detect. Abnormal AI says its platform stops the attacks that slip past legacy gateways, including business email compromise, advanced phishing, vendor fraud, and account takeover. Abnormal AI states its mission is to stop crime with AI.[15]

Abnormal AI says its platform connects AI tools, people, agents, and cloud activity through behavioral context to govern adoption, enforce policies, detect threats, and support investigations. The platform has native API integrations across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Okta, CrowdStrike, and the customer's SIEM and SOAR. Abnormal AI says each supported connection helps Abnormal understand activity, investigate threats, and apply the controls the customer's team authorizes. Abnormal AI describes Attune as the behavioral AI model that learns what is normal and detects what does not fit. AI Data Analyst lets users ask plain-English questions and get security insights instantly. AI Data Analyst consolidates insights from across the Abnormal environment into a single source of truth.[15][16][20]

For email, Abnormal AI describes Inbound Email Security as stopping BEC, phishing, and credential theft before delivery. AI Security Mailbox is described as an AI co-worker for email security operations. AI Phishing Coach is described as just-in-time training that adapts to each user's real risk. Messaging Security is described as detecting and remediating malicious content in messaging apps, and Misdirected Email as preventing accidental data leakage from misaddressed email. Email DLP Rules combines a custom policy engine with an AI Triage Agent. Teams can launch Email DLP Rules in passive mode, logging matches without taking action, then move to active enforcement. Email Productivity uses behavioral AI to move low-priority promotional email out of the inbox, and Email Productivity deploys through API integration.[15][17][18][21]

For identity, Account Takeover Protection detects and remediates compromised Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts by learning normal sign-in, device, and behavioral patterns for each user. Account Takeover Protection locks attackers out by revoking active sessions and forcing credential resets. Abnormal AI says Account Takeover Protection connects via API to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Abnormal AI says brute force, credential stuffing, and token or session theft produce sign-ins that satisfy authentication. Abnormal AI says its platform correlates email, IdP, and SaaS signals into one behavioral model, catching privilege misuse and socially-engineered MFA resets. Identity Threat Protection correlates signals to contain threats before and after authentication. Infiltration Prevention is described as detecting synthetic personas and infiltration campaigns before access is provisioned. Posture Management is described as catching risky misconfigurations across the email platform.[3][15][19]

AI Cloud Security is described as detecting AI-driven attacks against cloud identities and workloads and containing threats within the customer's response policies. AI Cloud Security is at the Priority First stage, available for purchase and production deployment to selected customers. AI Employee Guardrails is described as keeping employee AI use on task, protecting sensitive data, and enforcing policies based on the person, tool, and request. AI Agent Security is described as inventorying production agents and verifying that each one behaves as intended. AI Agent Security is at the Design Partner stage, where selected customers evaluate the product and give regular feedback to the product team. AI Employee Guardrails is at the Design Partner stage. AI Security Workbench is described as running AI-powered investigations across petabytes of behavioral events.[3][15][20][21][22]

Abnormal AI says it powers 5,000 customers, including 30% of the Fortune 500.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Abnormal AI on the record

Sources

Abnormal AI full record

  1. [1]Launching 24m series a funding from greylockAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · published November 19, 2019 · Tier A
  2. [2]Series d 5b valuationAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · published August 6, 2024 · Tier A
  3. [3]PlatformAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Dominos rolls out stronger communications securityAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Avery dennison case studyAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]ValvolineAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Ingersoll randAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Save the childrenAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Abnormal ai expands its ai security suiteAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · published September 24, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Abnormal expands email security platformAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · published August 27, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Abnormal extends behavioral security platformAbnormal AI · abnormal.ai · published July 28, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Behavioral AI for Email, Identity, and AI Security | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Abnormal AI extends behavioral security to identities, AI systems, and insider threatsHelp Net Security · published July 29, 2026 · Tier B
  14. [14]Abnormal AI Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  15. [15]The Behavioral Security Platform | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]AI Data Analyst | Automated Security Reporting | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Email DLP Rules | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Graymail Filtering | AI Email Productivity | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]Stop Account Takeover | ATO Detection | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  20. [20]AI Cloud Security | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  21. [21]AI Agent Security | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  22. [22]AI Employee Guardrails | Abnormal AIAbnormal AI · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  23. [23]Abnormal AI Names Don Jeter CMO to Accelerate Its Expansion in AI SecurityAbnormal AI · published November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  24. [24]Abnormal AI Expands Leadership Team to Advance Behavioral AI PlatformAbnormal AI · published April 29, 2026 · Tier A
  25. [25]Abnormal AI and OpenAI Partner to Accelerate Secure Enterprise AI Adoption and Strengthen Cyber DefenseBusiness Wire · published August 19, 2026 · Tier A

Hornetsecurity full record

  1. [1]hornetsecurity.comHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Proofpoint acquisition completed press releaseHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · published December 8, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]hornetsecurity.comHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cybersecurity Services for Microsoft 365 | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Hornetsecurity – Next-Gen Microsoft 365 SecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Backup Service Renewal | Hornetsecurity (formerly Altaro)Hornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]365 Total Protection | Next-Gen Microsoft 365 Security SuiteHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]365 Permission Manager for Microsoft 365 | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]AI Cyber Assistant by Hornetsecurity: Meet AI.MYHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]AI Recipient Validation: Prevent Misdirected Emails | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Advanced Threat Protection for Email | AI-powered Threat DefenseHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Spam Filter & Malware Protection | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Business Email Continuity Service | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Hosted Business Email | Hornet.emailHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]DMARC Manager - Secure Your Domain with HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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