# Alastair Paterson

> Alastair Paterson is the co-founder and CEO of Harmonic Security, a San Francisco-based startup building language models that protect enterprise data as employees pour it into generative AI tools. He previously co-founded Digital Shadows in a London kitchen in 2011 and ran it for eleven years through to its $160M acquisition by ReliaQuest in 2022. A Bristol-trained engineer who cut his teeth at BAE Systems Detica, he is now back on his second cybersecurity company, this one wagering that coaching beats blocking.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Harmonic Security
- **Organizations:** Harmonic Security, Digital Shadows (former), BAE Systems Detica (former), GBx, Founders Pledge, CyLon (mentor, former)
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** MEng, Computer Science (First Class), University of Bristol
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led Digital Shadows from inception to a $160M acquisition by ReliaQuest/KKR in 2022., Named in Financial News' 40 Most Influential People in European FinTech (2015)., Named Computer Weekly UKtech50 Rising Star (2013).

## Career timeline

- **pre-2011** — International Propositions Manager at BAE Systems Detica, working on big-data risk projects for government and FTSE 100 clients.
- **2011** — Co-founded Digital Shadows in London with James Chappell.
- **2014** — Digital Shadows launches SearchLight, its flagship digital risk protection product, after raising venture capital.
- **2015** — Named in Financial News' 40 most influential people in European FinTech. Relocates to San Francisco to build out Digital Shadows in the US.
- **2022** — Digital Shadows acquired by ReliaQuest (backed by KKR) for $160M in July.
- **2023** — Co-founded Harmonic Security with Bryan Woolgar-O'Neil. $7M seed round led by Ten Eleven Ventures (October).
- **2024** — Harmonic launches its data protection product (July); raises $17.5M Series A led by Next47 (October); named RSA Innovation Sandbox finalist.
- **2025** — Appears at RSAC 2025 and on the Unsupervised Learning podcast; Harmonic scales engineering and go-to-market teams across US and UK.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led Digital Shadows from inception to a $160M acquisition by ReliaQuest/KKR in 2022.
- Named in Financial News' 40 Most Influential People in European FinTech (2015).
- Named Computer Weekly UKtech50 Rising Star (2013).
- Raised $24.5M in combined seed and Series A funding for Harmonic Security in under 18 months.
- Harmonic Security selected as a 2024 RSA Innovation Sandbox finalist.
- First-class MEng in Computer Science from the University of Bristol.

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Harmonic Security closes $17.5M Series A led by Next47, with Ten Eleven Ventures returning.
- **2025-02** — Appears on Daniel Miessler's Unsupervised Learning podcast to discuss AI data protection.
- **2025-04** — Fireside chat at RSAC 2025 in San Francisco on enterprise GenAI adoption.

## Links

- Website: https://harmonic.security
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastair-paterson-2586445
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/patersonae
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agb73dxXuFg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alastair-paterson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-15