Renaud Deraison
About Renaud Deraison
Renaud Deraison is known as the author of the Nessus vulnerability scanner. He released the first version at 17. Before Tenable he worked for SolSoft and founded a security consulting company, Nessus Consulting S.A.R.L.
He co-founded Tenable Network Security in 2002 and serves as its Chief Technology Officer. Tenable is now a public company, listed on Nasdaq as TENB. Tenable's bio says he holds three patents related to network scanning and security. NFX lists him as a board member of La French Tech New York since 2020, and he is based in New York.
Crunchbase lists five personal investments. Dated rounds include Escape (pre-seed, September 2020), Akto (seed, November 2022), Bastion (seed, April 2023) and Tolmo (seed, June 2026). CybelAngel (Series B) also appears in his portfolio on Crunchbase and Tracxn.
On NFX Signal he is listed as an angel with an investment range of $5K to $5.0M and a sweet spot of $25K. NFX ranks him in Security at pre-seed, seed and Series B, and among New York City angels. These figures come from a third-party directory, not from a statement by him.
Tolmo is his AI round on the Lounge deals desk. In June 2026 Tolmo announced a $22M seed round led by Accel, with Y Combinator participating. Angels in the round included Olivier Pomel and Mark Anderson as well as Deraison.
Tolmo builds AI security agents that work across code, CI and cloud production environments. Its founders previously built Sqreen, which Datadog acquired in 2021.
His public investments are almost all in cybersecurity and enterprise infrastructure. Tracxn lists his investment geographies as France and the United States. NFX places him in Security at pre-seed, seed and Series B. I found no public statement from him about what he looks for in a pitch.
- Tolmo: AI security agents for production environments; $22M seed led by Accel, June 2026.
- Bastion: security startup; seed round, April 2023.
- Akto: API security startup; seed round, November 2022. Accel led the seed.
- Escape: pre-seed round, September 2020. Olivier Pomel also invested.
- CybelAngel: Series B participant per Crunchbase; year not confirmed.
- signal.nfx.com/investors/renaud-deraison
- crunchbase.com/person/renaud-deraison
- tenable.com/profile/renaud-deraison
- linkedin.com/in/renaud-deraison-26051982
- tracxn.com/d/people/renaud-deraison/__hh49Az26xsD35SMS-shaEOOG9KWFa4um
- cbinsights.com/company/akto-1/financials
- cbinsights.com/company/bastion-3/financials
- crunchbase.com/funding_round/escape-b74e-pre-seed--3fe7f66b
Investing activity
Renaud Deraison appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $22M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $22M. The most recent is Tolmo (Seed, $22M, Jun 2026).
Renaud Deraison most often invests alongside Accel, Y Combinator, Motier Ventures and Mark Anderson, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Renaud Deraison
Does Renaud Deraison invest in AI startups?
Yes. He was an angel in Tolmo's $22M seed round in June 2026. Tolmo builds AI security agents. His other known investments are in security.
What check size does Renaud Deraison write?
He has not stated a check size publicly. NFX Signal lists a range of $5K to $5.0M with a sweet spot of $25K. Treat that as a third-party estimate.
What stage does Renaud Deraison invest in?
His dated investments are pre-seed (Escape, 2020) and seed (Akto, Bastion, Tolmo). NFX also ranks him for Series B security.
Who is Renaud Deraison?
He is a co-founder of Tenable, which he started in 2002, and the original author of the Nessus vulnerability scanner. He serves as Tenable's CTO.
What sectors does Renaud Deraison back as an angel?
Mostly cybersecurity, including API security and AI security. Tracxn also tags enterprise applications and enterprise infrastructure.
Where is Renaud Deraison based?
He is based in New York. His known investments are in companies in France and the United States.
Is Renaud Deraison an angel investor?
Yes. Renaud Deraison invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Renaud Deraison invested in?
Renaud Deraison's AI investments include Tolmo. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Renaud Deraison invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Renaud Deraison has invested at Seed, with a median round of $22M.
Who does Renaud Deraison co-invest with?
Renaud Deraison's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Accel (1 deal), Y Combinator (1 deal), Motier Ventures (1 deal), Mark Anderson (1 deal) and Jason Lemkin (1 deal).