# Root

> Root, formerly Slim.AI, built an enterprise security platform that uses specialized AI agents and human-reviewed pipelines to patch vulnerabilities in Linux container images and application libraries without forcing customers onto new versions. After pivoting from container optimization to automated remediation, the Boston company won customers including SixWorks, BigID, DeleteMe and Datuum, partnered with scanners and registries, and was acquired by Aikido Security in June 2026.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** Boston, United States
- **Founders:** Ian Riopel (CEO and Co-Founder), John Amaral (CTO and Co-Founder), Kyle Quest (Co-Founder and original CTO of Slim.AI), Benji Kalman (VP of Engineering and Co-Founder), Mickey Gordon (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 44 employees before acquisition; public company profiles place Root in the 11-50 employee range.
- **Products:** Slim.AI Platform, Automated Vulnerability Remediation, Root Images Catalog, Root Library Catalog, Root Platform
- **Notable:** Raised $37.6 million across a $6.6 million seed round and $31 million Series A., Pivoted from Slim.AI's container optimization platform to Root's automated vulnerability remediation business., Reported fixing at least 95% of vulnerabilities through automated agents and testing workflows.

## Products & services

- **Slim.AI Platform** — The original developer platform for inspecting, optimizing and securing container images, built around the open-source DockerSlim project.
- **Automated Vulnerability Remediation** — A system that scans Linux containers, applies upstream or backported patches, tests the result and returns a remediated image without requiring a base-image migration.
- **Root Images Catalog** — A free catalog of curated, continuously maintained low-vulnerability container images for common stacks.
- **Root Library Catalog** — Remediated application libraries for JavaScript, Python, Java and Go, delivered at versions customers already use.
- **Root Platform** — A SaaS dashboard and integration layer for monitoring images and libraries, tracking findings, managing remediation and exporting SBOM, VEX, provenance and attestations.

## Achievements

- Raised $37.6 million across a $6.6 million seed round and $31 million Series A.
- Pivoted from Slim.AI's container optimization platform to Root's automated vulnerability remediation business.
- Reported fixing at least 95% of vulnerabilities through automated agents and testing workflows.
- Built a free catalog of nearly 40 curated, low-vulnerability public images by mid-2025.
- Achieved SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials certifications and became a Docker Verified Publisher.
- Reported a 98% reduction in critical and high vulnerabilities at Datuum during its first week, while cutting weekly manual security review from 40 hours to four.
- Was acquired by Aikido Security on June 30, 2026, after the companies first integrated their products.

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Launched the free Root Images Catalog of curated low-vulnerability container images.
- **2025-07** — Added a Trivy integration that routes scanner findings into Root's remediation pipeline.
- **2025-09** — Described SLSA-backed provenance and cryptographic integrity across its patch-distribution process.
- **2026-03** — Offered a two-month full-product trial after supply-chain compromises affecting Trivy, LiteLLM and axios.
- **2026-05** — Published details of two malware-scanning gates in every OS-package and application-library patch workflow.
- **2026-06** — Aikido Security acquired Root and began integrating drop-in patched libraries and images into its platform.

## Links

- Website: https://root.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/root-io
- GitHub: https://github.com/rootio-avr

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/root
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-20