NetFoundry, a Charlotte-based network security company focused on zero-trust connectivity, has raised $12 million in a funding round led by SYN Ventures. This marks the company’s first venture capital raise, despite operating for nearly a decade.

NetFoundry’s platform is built to eliminate traditional network exposure and avoid reliance on VPNs, MPLS, or IP allowlists. Instead, it delivers embeddable zero-trust networking designed for modern cloud, application, and infrastructure environments. The platform leverages microsegmented overlay networks, application-level identity and access controls, and closed inbound firewall ports to help secure workflows by default.

What stands out is how NetFoundry enables connectivity through code, allowing software providers to embed zero-trust capabilities directly into their products. This makes it especially relevant as companies look to bake security into their architecture, rather than bolt it on after the fact.

Behind the scenes, NetFoundry powers its products with OpenZiti, the open-source zero-trust framework it maintains. That foundation supports everything from IT and OT protection to critical infrastructure, with customers spanning Fortune 500 enterprises, major U.S. banks, and even the U.S. military.

Some of the best-known brands integrating NetFoundry’s tech into their solutions include Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Cap Gemini, Arrow, LVT, EdgeX Foundry, Redfaire, and TZ.

In announcing the round, CEO Galeal Zino called this the “iPhone moment for secure networking,” arguing that traditional WAN, SASE, and firewall-based approaches can’t keep up with AI-accelerated environments. The focus, he says, is on delivering military-grade security with the speed and flexibility of software.