OpenAI agreed on 9 March to acquire Promptfoo, a San Francisco-based developer of tools that test AI applications for security, safety and other behavioural risks. Terms were not disclosed.
Why OpenAI is buying Promptfoo
Promptfoo's founders said adversarial testing had become the biggest obstacle to shipping AI at large companies, and that joining OpenAI would give their work more resources and access to research at the model and inference layers. OpenAI framed the deal as helping enterprises test agent behaviour systematically, find risks before deployment and keep records for oversight and governance, with Promptfoo's technology to be integrated into OpenAI Frontier.
Deal terms and financing
No price was disclosed. SDxCentral reported that Promptfoo had raised about $22m at a valuation of around $119m and that its 23 staff would join OpenAI. The founders thanked investors including Insight Partners and a16z.
Regulatory approvals and timing
Reports at announcement said completion was subject to customary closing conditions. Promptfoo's own website now states that the company is part of OpenAI, although no formal closing date was published.
Market context
Promptfoo was founded in 2024 by chief executive Ian Webster, formerly of Discord, and chief technology officer Michael D'Angelo. Its open-source suite covers red teaming, static scanning and evaluations, and the founders committed to keep supporting models from other providers.
