How to Get Your Cybersecurity Company Featured in TechCrunch

If you're a founder or head of marketing at a cybersecurity startup — Series A, Series B, or even seed-stage with traction — you've likely watched competitors land coverage in TechCrunch while your own team struggles to get a response.

You see the pattern: depthfirst raises $40M for AI security. Mandiant's founder raises $190M for autonomous agents. Vega raises $120M to rethink threat detection.

And every one of those placements accelerates something you need: enterprise pipeline.

This isn't about vanity metrics. A single TechCrunch placement can shift how CISOs, procurement teams, and enterprise buyers see your company when they're building shortlists for security tool evaluation. It's third-party validation from a publication that enterprise security buyers already trust when they're researching solutions.

But here's what most cybersecurity founders miss: TechCrunch isn't pitchable through cold outreach alone. The reporters who cover security — Zack Whittaker, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Julie Bort — are inundated with pitches. They have relationships with founders, investors, and industry insiders. And they're looking for stories that matter to their audience, not just press releases dressed up as news.

This guide explains how to get featured in TechCrunch as a cybersecurity company — what they actually cover, when to pitch, and why earned media authority matters more in enterprise security than almost any other vertical.

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Why TechCrunch Coverage Matters for Cybersecurity Companies

Enterprise security buying cycles are long, rigorous, and involve procurement teams that demand proof. According to Forrester's 2026 State of Business Buying report, the typical B2B buying decision now includes 13 internal stakeholders and 9 external influencers. For cybersecurity purchases — which often involve compliance, legal, IT, and executive sign-off — that number climbs even higher.

That means your buyers aren't just evaluating your product. They're evaluating your credibility. And one of the fastest ways they do that is by searching for your company name + "TechCrunch," "Wired," or "Forbes."

If they find nothing, or worse, only your own blog posts and press releases, you've just lost credibility at the exact moment it mattered most.

TechCrunch coverage serves three functions in enterprise security sales:

1. Shortlist inclusion. CISOs and procurement teams use press coverage as a first-cut filter when building vendor shortlists. If you're not covered by publications they trust, you're often not considered.
2. Investor signal. Funding announcements in TechCrunch validate your growth trajectory and financial stability — two things security buyers care about deeply. They don't want to bet on a vendor that might not exist in 18 months.
3. Category authority. When TechCrunch covers your product launch, technology angle, or founder story, you're being positioned as a category player — not just another security tool. That positioning compounds over time.

TechCrunch isn't the only Tier 1 tech publication that matters — Wired, VentureBeat, and Ars Technica all carry weight in security. But TechCrunch is unique in its reach (30M+ monthly visitors), its focus on startup funding and growth, and its authority with enterprise buyers who are actively researching new security vendors.

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What TechCrunch Actually Covers in Cybersecurity

TechCrunch is not a trade publication. They're not covering every product launch, every feature release, or every partnership announcement. They cover stories that matter to their audience: startup founders, investors, and enterprise technology buyers.

Here's what they've covered in cybersecurity over the last 12 months:

1. Funding Announcements (Especially Series A, B, and Notable Seeds)

This is the most consistent coverage trigger. If you've raised a meaningful round — especially from a known investor like Accel, Ballistic Ventures, or a strategic like In-Q-Tel (the CIA's venture arm) — TechCrunch will likely cover it.

Recent examples:

• depthfirst raises $40M Series A (Accel-led, AI security platform)
• Mandiant founder raises $190M for autonomous AI agent security (Accel, GV, Kleiner Perkins, CIA's In-Q-Tel)
• Vega raises $120M Series B to rethink threat detection (Accel, Cyberstarts, Redpoint, CRV)
• AegisAI raises $13M seed for email threat prevention (Accel, Foundation Capital)

What makes a funding story newsworthy to TechCrunch:

• Round size relative to stage. A $40M Series A is notable. A $120M Series B is notable. A $3M seed from a top-tier investor is notable if the founder has a strong track record.
• Investor backing. Accel shows up in most of these. So do Ballistic Ventures (security-focused fund), GV, Kleiner Perkins, and In-Q-Tel. Known investors signal to TechCrunch that this isn't just another security startup.
• Founder pedigree. If your founder previously built and sold Mandiant for $5.4B, or led security at Google, or was at Databricks/Amazon in a senior role, that's a story.
• Valuation or record-breaking milestones. Armadin claimed its combined seed + Series A was a record for a security startup at that stage. That's a hook.

How to use this: If you've raised a Series A or B, you have a legitimate news hook. Don't pitch it as "we raised money." Pitch it as "we raised X from Y to solve Z problem that enterprise security teams are facing right now."

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2. Product Launches That Change a Category

TechCrunch doesn't cover incremental feature releases. But they do cover products that redefine how a category works — especially if those products touch AI, zero-trust, cloud security, or autonomous agents.

What they've covered:

• Vega Security — redefining SIEM (security information and event management) by running security where data already lives, instead of centralizing it like Splunk
• AegisAI — autonomous AI agents that inspect and neutralize email threats in real time, without static rules
• Clipbook — AI-native media monitoring platform (this crossed into PR tech, but the AI-native angle is what made it newsworthy)

What makes a product launch newsworthy:

• It solves a problem that legacy tools can't. Vega's story: Splunk and legacy SIEM tools are too expensive and break in cloud environments. Vega runs security where the data already lives.
• It's AI-native, not AI-bolted-on. AegisAI's autonomous agents were built from the ground up to handle email threats without predefined rules. That's a different story than "we added an AI feature to our dashboard."
• It has early traction with named customers. Vega signed Instacart and Fortune 500 firms. AegisAI is running pilots with financial services companies. Named customers = proof.

How to use this: If you're launching a product that fundamentally changes how a security problem is solved — not just iterates on it — you have a product story. Frame it as "the old way doesn't work, here's why, and here's what we built instead."

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3. Founder Stories (Especially Repeat Founders or Notable Exits)

If your founder has a track record — built and sold a company, led security at a major tech company, or has a recognizable name in cybersecurity — that's a story TechCrunch will cover even without a funding announcement.

Recent examples:

• Kevin Mandia (Mandiant founder who sold to Google for $5.4B) launching Armadin
• Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo (former Google Safe Browsing and reCAPTCHA executives) launching AegisAI
• Shay Sandler (ex-Israeli military cyber unit, co-founder of Vega)

What makes a founder story newsworthy:

• Previous exit. If you built and sold a security company for $1B+, TechCrunch will cover your next move.
• Pedigree from a recognizable tech company or government role. Former Google, Microsoft, Amazon, or Israeli Unit 8200 carries weight.
• Strong thesis on what's broken. Mandia's thesis: autonomous AI hackers are coming, and enterprises need autonomous defenders. That's a story.

How to use this: If your founder has a track record, lead with it. Not in a CV-style bio, but in the narrative: "Former Mandiant founder raises $190M to defend against autonomous AI threats." The founder's credibility makes the problem credible.

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4. Industry Trends and Data (Especially If You're the Source)

TechCrunch occasionally covers cybersecurity trends if the data is fresh, proprietary, and reveals something enterprise buyers need to know.

Examples:

• AI-powered phishing emails have a 54% click-through rate (vs. 12% for human-written emails) — cited by AegisAI in their coverage
• 90% of successful cyberattacks begin with a phishing email (CISA data) — used to frame the problem AegisAI solves
• Zero-click searches hit 60% — security vendors are starting to notice that buyers research them in AI engines first

What makes trend coverage newsworthy:

• New data. Not a rehash of a Gartner report from 2024. Fresh research or proprietary findings from your company.
• Immediate relevance. If the trend affects how enterprises buy, deploy, or secure systems right now, it's newsworthy.
• Named attribution. If you're citing a study, name the source. TechCrunch's security editors fact-check everything.

How to use this: If you've run proprietary research — attack surface data, phishing success rates, cost analysis of legacy security tools — package it as a trend story and pitch it with the data attached.

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5. Controversies, Breaches, and "What Went Wrong" Stories

This is harder to control, but TechCrunch also covers security failures, breaches, and controversies. If your company has been involved in a high-profile incident — or if you can provide expert commentary on someone else's breach — that's a potential story.

Recent examples:

• NSO Group's transparency claims amid its push to enter the US market (TechCrunch covered the controversy)
• Government hacking tools targeting iPhones now being used by cybercriminals (analysis piece)
• Illinois health department exposed 700K+ residents' personal data for years (breach coverage)

What makes breach or controversy coverage work:

• Scope and impact. If it affects millions of users or a critical infrastructure sector, it's a story.
• Expert analysis. If you can provide technical breakdown or attribution (and you have the credibility to do so), TechCrunch's security editors will use you as a source.

How to use this: Don't pitch your own breach as a story unless you're framing it as a transparency case study (rare). But do monitor major breaches in your category and offer expert commentary to TechCrunch's security team when it's relevant.

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When to Pitch TechCrunch (And When Not To)

Timing matters. Here's when you should pitch:

You Should Pitch When:

1. You've just closed a Series A, B, or notable seed round from a known investor. Pitch within 24–48 hours of the announcement.
2. You're launching a product that redefines a security category. Pitch 2–3 weeks before the public launch so TechCrunch has time to cover it as an exclusive or day-of story.
3. Your founder has a track record or notable pedigree. If you're a repeat founder or your exec team came from Google/Mandiant/Palo Alto Networks, that's a pitch angle.
4. You have proprietary data or research that reveals something enterprise buyers need to know. Pitch it as a trend story with the data attached.
5. You've signed a marquee customer or hit a revenue milestone that signals category traction. Example: "We hit $10M ARR in 18 months with zero paid marketing." That's a story.

You Should NOT Pitch When:

1. You're announcing a minor feature release. TechCrunch doesn't cover "we added two-factor authentication" or "we integrated with Slack."
2. You're announcing a partnership unless it's with a major enterprise or government agency and it changes how your product is deployed.
3. You're trying to pitch a press release as news. TechCrunch's security editors can tell the difference.
4. You don't have a clear news hook. "We'd love to tell you about our company" is not a pitch. "We raised $40M to solve X problem for enterprise CISOs" is.

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How to Actually Get TechCrunch Coverage (The Process)

Most cybersecurity companies fail at this step. They either cold-pitch with a generic email, or they assume TechCrunch will just "find them" if they're doing interesting work.

Neither works.

Here's the process that does:

Step 1: Build Relationships Before You Need Coverage

TechCrunch's security editors — Zack Whittaker, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Carly Page (formerly), Julie Bort (for venture/funding stories) — are not waiting for your pitch. They're covering 10–15 stories a week, and they already have a network of founders, investors, and industry sources they trust.

Your job is to become part of that network before you need coverage.

How:

• Follow them on X (Twitter). Engage with their stories. Not in a "great article!" way — in a "here's additional context on this breach" way.
• Offer yourself as a source for future stories. If they're covering a category you understand (cloud security, AI security, zero-trust), DM or email them: "I saw your piece on X. If you ever need technical breakdown or attribution for future stories in this space, happy to help."
• Send them embargoed briefings. If you're raising a round or launching a product, offer an exclusive or embargoed briefing 2–3 weeks before the announcement. This gives them time to understand your story and decide if it's newsworthy.

Step 2: Pitch With a News Hook (Not a Feature List)

When you do pitch, don't send a laundry list of features or a generic "we'd love to be featured" email.

TechCrunch's security editors care about why this matters now. Frame your pitch around the problem you're solving, the timing of why it matters, and the proof that you're solving it.

Bad pitch:

"Hi, we're [Company Name], and we've built an AI-powered cloud security platform. We'd love to tell you about it."

Good pitch:

"Hi Zack — [Company Name] just raised a $45M Series A from Accel to solve a problem legacy SIEM tools can't: running enterprise security where data already lives, instead of centralizing it. We've signed Instacart and two Fortune 500 firms in the last 6 months. Happy to share the full story under embargo if you're interested."

The good pitch includes:

• The news hook (funding round, product launch, milestone)
• Why it matters (solves a problem legacy tools can't)
• Proof (named customers, investor backing, founder pedigree)
• The ask (exclusive or embargoed briefing)

Step 3: Use Investor and Advisor Intros

If you have investors or advisors with existing relationships at TechCrunch, use them. Most top-tier VCs (Accel, Ballistic Ventures, GV, Kleiner Perkins) have regular contact with TechCrunch's venture desk and security editors.

Ask your lead investor: "Can you intro us to Julie Bort or Zack Whittaker for our Series A announcement?"

That intro will get read. A cold pitch from a [email protected] email address often won't.

Step 4: Be Available and Responsive

Once you've pitched and TechCrunch responds, be fast. Security editors are on tight deadlines. If they ask for additional context, a customer quote, or a technical breakdown, respond within hours — not days.

If they ask for an interview, make your founder available. If they need verification on a claim (funding amount, customer name, technical spec), provide it immediately.

TechCrunch's security editors fact-check everything. If they can't verify a claim, they won't run the story.

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What Happens After You Get TechCrunch Coverage

A single TechCrunch placement isn't the end goal. It's the start of a compounding earned media strategy.

Here's what happens after you land coverage:

1. AI Engines Start Citing You

TechCrunch is indexed by every major AI engine — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. When a CISO or procurement team searches "best cloud security platforms 2026" in ChatGPT, the AI is pulling from TechCrunch, Wired, VentureBeat, and other Tier 1 tech publications.

If you're not in those sources, you're not in the AI answer.

According to research from Muck Rack's Generative Pulse analysis, 85.5% of AI citations come from earned media sources — not ads, not SEO pages, not your own blog. A TechCrunch placement is the kind of earned editorial coverage that AI engines treat as authoritative.

That means your TechCrunch coverage doesn't just reach the people who read TechCrunch today. It reaches every enterprise buyer who asks an AI engine about your category over the next 12–24 months.

2. Enterprise Buyers See You as Credible

Enterprise security buyers don't buy based on a single data point. But they do use press coverage as a shortlist filter.

According to Forrester's 2026 Buyer Insights report, 94% of business buyers use AI during their buying process — but they validate AI outputs with trusted sources. When they search your company name, they're looking for third-party validation: TechCrunch, Wired, Forrester, Gartner.

If they find a TechCrunch article that explains your product, your funding, and your customer traction, you've just passed the credibility test. If they find nothing, they move on to the next vendor on the list.

3. Other Tier 1 Publications Notice You

TechCrunch coverage often triggers follow-on coverage. VentureBeat, Ars Technica, Fast Company, and Forbes all monitor what TechCrunch covers. If your story resonates, they'll reach out for their own angle.

This is how you build earned media momentum: one Tier 1 placement leads to another, and within 6–12 months, your company is consistently cited as a category player in cybersecurity.

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Why This Matters More for Cybersecurity Than Most Verticals

Most SaaS companies can succeed with product-led growth, paid ads, and performance marketing. Cybersecurity companies can't.

Here's why:

1. Security buyers are risk-averse by nature. They're not going to bet on a vendor they've never heard of, no matter how good the demo is. They need third-party validation — preferably from publications they already trust.

2. Procurement teams are involved from day one. According to Forrester, procurement professionals are now decision-makers in 53% of business buying cycles, and they engage early. Procurement teams care about vendor stability, financial backing, and market credibility. Press coverage signals all three.

3. Security buying cycles are long. Enterprise security deals take 6–18 months to close. During that time, buyers are researching you constantly. They're Googling your company name, asking AI engines for recommendations, and checking your press coverage. If you're not showing up in Tier 1 publications during that research phase, you're losing deals you don't even know you're in.

4. AI is now the first filter. CISOs and security leaders are using ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude to build shortlists before they ever talk to a vendor. If you're not cited in the sources those AI engines trust, you're not making it onto the shortlist.

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The TechCrunch Coverage Checklist

Use this checklist to assess whether you're ready to pitch TechCrunch:

• We've raised a Series A, B, or notable seed round from a known investor (Accel, Ballistic Ventures, GV, Kleiner Perkins, In-Q-Tel, etc.)
• Our founder has a track record (previous exit, security leadership at Google/Microsoft/Amazon, or recognizable industry pedigree)
• We've launched a product that redefines a security category (not just iterates on existing tools)
• We have named customers (Fortune 500, major enterprises, or marquee startups) who are using our product in production
• We have proprietary data or research that reveals a trend enterprise security buyers need to know
• We've hit a revenue or growth milestone that signals category traction ($10M ARR, 100+ enterprise customers, 300% YoY growth)
• We have investor or advisor intros to TechCrunch's security editors or venture desk
• We can respond fast (within hours, not days) if TechCrunch reaches out for follow-up

If you can check 2–3 of these boxes, you have a legitimate pitch. If you can't, focus on building the story first — then pitch.

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Machine Relations: Why Earned Media Is the AI Visibility Strategy for Cybersecurity

Here's what most cybersecurity companies miss: TechCrunch coverage isn't just PR. It's the foundation of how you show up in AI-mediated discovery.

When a CISO asks ChatGPT or Perplexity "who are the leading cloud security platforms" or "what's the best zero-trust solution for enterprises," the AI is pulling from publications it trusts: TechCrunch, Wired, VentureBeat, Forbes, Wall Street Journal.

If you're not covered in those publications, you're not in the AI answer. And if you're not in the AI answer, you're not in the consideration set.

This is what Machine Relations — the parent category for GEO, AEO, AI SEO, and AI PR — defines as the new layer of PR for the AI era. The publications that shaped human brand perception for decades are the same publications AI systems treat as authoritative sources. Earned media has always been the mechanism. Machine Relations is what happens when you understand that the same mechanism now applies to machine readers.

AuthorityTech has been operationalizing this for 8 years. We've secured over 10,000 AI-cited articles for clients across Forbes, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Wired, and 50+ Tier 1 publications. For cybersecurity companies — where a single placement in TechCrunch or Wired can shift enterprise sales velocity — this is the strategy that compounds over time.

Learn more about Machine Relations and how earned media drives AI citations at machinerelations.ai.

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Ready to Get Featured in TechCrunch?

If you're a Series A, B, or growth-stage cybersecurity company with a funding announcement, product launch, or founder story that fits TechCrunch's editorial priorities — and you want to turn that coverage into compounding AI visibility — AuthorityTech can help.

We've secured TechCrunch coverage for cybersecurity companies, SaaS platforms, and AI-native startups through direct relationships with the publications that matter most in enterprise sales cycles.

Schedule a Machine Relations audit to see how your company currently shows up in AI answers — and what it would take to get featured in TechCrunch, Wired, and the Tier 1 publications your buyers actually trust.

Related Reading

• How to Get Featured in TechCrunch in 2026
• How to Get Featured in the Wall Street Journal in 2026
• How to Get Featured in Inc. Magazine in 2026

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Last updated: March 23, 2026