AI-Powered Software Bug Hunter Finds Flaws Faster Than Human Reviewers

A software bug hunter powered by artificial intelligence is outpacing human reviewers, earning it kudos from Toyota, the Walt Disney Company, IBM, and dozens of other major organizations. Called Xbow, the tool is currently ranked number one on the HackerOne leaderboards, which connects so-called "ethical hackers" with companies whose software gaps could lead to peril.

Xbow stems from an AI cybersecurity startup of the same name, which topped $117 million in funding from former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital this month. The startup introduced Xbow just under a year ago; weeks later, founder and CEO Oege de Moor boasted that the tool had "[matched] the capabilities of a top human pentester." Now, Xbow is reportedly outranking even the most practiced human software reviewers.

From its place at the top of the HackerOne leaderboard, Xbow currently possesses a "reputation" rating (designed to quantify a ...