Cybersecurity startup Minimus announced Monday that it has raised $51 million in seed funding to launch a new platform that aims to eliminate more than 95% of software supply chain vulnerabilities, marking a potentially transformative shift in application security.
The round was co-led by YL Ventures and Mayfield, with participation from cybersecurity veterans Ben Bernstein, Dima Stopel and John Morello, who founded the company in October 2022. The team previously pioneered container security through Twistlock and contributed to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s guidelines on container use (NIST SP 800-190).
Minimus offers secure, minimal container images and virtual machines that serve as drop-in replacements for existing software components across development pipelines. By using stripped-down images built from source—with only the code necessary to run specific applications—the platform significantly reduces attack surfaces and bypasses the conventional cycle of vulnerability detection, triage and remediation.
Instead of responding to known threats, organizations using Minimus can avoid vulnerabilities altogether. With a single configuration change, companies can deploy Minimus artifacts and immediately reduce their exposure, accelerating remediation for the remaining 5% of vulnerabilities.
“Application security shouldn’t be reactive,” said Minimus CEO Ben Bernstein. “Developers waste countless hours on triage and remediation. With Minimus, they start from secure building blocks and can focus on innovation.”
The platform integrates real-time threat intelligence, including CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) and Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) data, helping security teams and CISOs prioritize any remaining risks.
Minimus also aims to streamline workflows by fitting into existing development and operations tooling, requiring minimal changes to deployment practices. The goal is to provide enterprise security teams with clear, measurable risk reduction without increasing operational complexity.
“With Minimus, this team is poised to redefine how organizations manage vulnerabilities,” said YL Ventures Managing Partner Yoav Leitersdorf. “They’re tackling one of the core challenges CISOs face—reducing risk without overwhelming already stretched security teams.”
Mayfield Managing Partner Navin Chaddha echoed the sentiment: “This advancement enables organizations to innovate faster and more securely in today’s AI-accelerated development environment.”
Minimus has not disclosed customers or timelines for broader rollout, but it positions itself as an early answer to a growing need for proactive software supply chain defense.