Saint John-based TrojAI, which has developed cybersecurity systems for artificial intelligence, has been acquired by A10 Networks of Silicon Valley for an undisclosed price.

The two companies announced the acquisition in a statement Monday, saying it will strengthen A10’s ability to deliver sovereign AI security, helping customers control how and where their AI models, data and agents are protected.

In an interview, TrojAI Co-Founders James Stewart and Stephen Goddard said the company’s 22-member team would remain in Saint John after the acquisition and likely add members over time.

“The thing I’m excited about . . . is we get to continue on our journey in Atlantic Canada and do it with our team and to probably add to that team,” said Goddard, the Saint John company’s COO. “To me, that’s more exciting than anything.”

Stewart and Goddard started TrojAI in about 2020, two years after they sold their previous company EhEye to Patriot One Technologies of Toronto for more than $3.2 million in stock. Stewart was TrojAI’s CEO at the launch, but he moved to the CTO role in March 2024 when the company brought on its current CEO Lee Weiner.

The company last raised equity capital in 2024, when it closed a US$5.75 million or C$7.77 million funding round. Its Atlantic Canadian investors include the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Build Ventures and Concrete Ventures.

The TrojAI system improves the security of AI models and agents by “red-teaming” (which means attacking them as a cybercriminal would) as they’re being built to make sure they’re secure.  Once these systems are operational, TrojAI continues to protect them.

Its new parent company builds systems that help keep large websites, apps, and computer networks running safely and smoothly. A10 is a publicly listed company that has a market capitalization of US$2.4 billion (C$3.4 billion) and its share price has risen 84 percent this year. Its shares rose about 4.7 percent on Monday, following the announcement of the TrojAI purchase.

"TrojAI is a natural fit for A10, strategically and operationally,” said A10 Chief Executive Dhrupad Trivedi in a statement. “Pairing our hardware-based AI firewall with TrojAI's software-based red teaming and runtime protection helps customers adopt AI quickly and confidently, protecting their models, data, and agents without sacrificing the latency or availability they rely on us for.”

Stewart said in the interview that A10 approached TrojAI six months ago and they began the M&A process. As the negotiations continued, Stewart said, the Saint John team realized there was a strong fit between the companies in terms of technology, culture and vision. Stewart said several times in the interview that he and Goddard were impressed by the “authenticity” of A10.

“We’re all staying here in New Brunswick,” said Stewart of the TrojAI team. “[A10 is] excited about investing here. They’re excited about the ecosystem and our ecosystem. They know we have a lot of talent here.”