North Pole Security, a security startup founded in 2024 by former Google engineers Pete Markowsky, Russell Hancox, and Tom Burgin, has raised $4 million in seed funding from elite angels and early-stage fintech investors. The capital will accelerate development and go-to-market growth for Workshop, their proactive, macOS-native endpoint protection platform.

As macOS continues to capture enterprise desktop share - now accounting for roughly 20% of business environments - the security stack hasn’t kept pace. North Pole Security launches Workshop to fill that gap: a prevention-first platform that enforces allowlisted software, blocks unauthorized code execution, and automates policy application - all without degrading performance.

Building Prevention That Scales for Enterprise Teams

Unlike traditional detection-based EDR tools that react to threats after compromise, Workshop flips the model: it proactively prevents unapproved applications, scripts, and binaries from executing in the first place. Built by the original creators of Google's widely adopted open-source allowlisting tool Santa, Workshop brings proven prevention to enterprise scale. It provides need-based approvals, granular policy control, and automated deployment - making macOS endpoints both safe and manageable without sacrificing developer agility.

Why Workflow-Level Security Offers Enduring Value

Most cybersecurity tools integrate via APIs or network hooks - but Workshop latches directly onto every click, launch, and subprocess on each Mac. This workflow-native design enables it to lock down endpoints across any enterprise app mix without friction. The foundational insight that founders should note is this: preventive security is only as useful as it's invisible. Security that integrates at the user action layer becomes habitual and trusted - not a tool users ignore or disable.

And here's the deeper lesson: when you build functionality that eliminates ambient fear - for example, fear of zero-day scripts or quiet backdoors - you don’t need to win attention. You become the assumed guardrail. Workshop isn’t optional - it’s the foundation that makes macOS viable for secure enterprise environments. That’s a trust loop no dashboard can replicate - and why adoption often spreads by necessity, not sales.

Early Traction, Trusted Design, and Clean Install

Though still early revenue, North Pole Security has already signed enterprise customers during its stealth phase, proving that proactive support for macOS is accessible and scalable. Customers report smooth integration even with hybrid Mac/PC fleets, and analysts note reduced alert fatigue due to fewer false positives. Workshop’s lightweight, agent-based design requires minimal IT intervention and adapts to custom policy frameworks across sectors.

This operational ease enables fast pilot deployment and early wins - and primes legs for expansion once compliance and audit requirements tighten.

Founders with Deep Domain Authority

Pete Markowsky and Russell Hancox lead Security and Engineering, while Tom Burgin drives product. With backgrounds as staff security engineers at Google, they bring deep experience in securing scale without compromising performance or developer experience. They translated lessons from cloud infrastructure and internal tooling into a consumer-level platform that safeguards with minimal footprint.

Their credibility is evident: Workshop is built from a real-world toolset, industrialized for enterprise use, not reimagined as another siloed bolt-on.

Capital to Fuel Growth and Partnerships

With $4 million in seed capital, North Pole Security plans to expand core engineering, accelerate compliance certifications, and deepen integrations - especially for finance, legal, and regulated enterprise verticals. The team is also developing a managed policy operations console for MSPs and SOC teams focused on macOS fleets.

The investment reaffirms market demand: as macOS continues gaining share in remote/client-focused sectors, enterprises need scalable security without endpoint drift.

Positioned for the Next Wave of Enterprise Device Management

North Pole Security isn’t building tech for novelty - it’s building the missing layer in enterprise endpoint defense. In an era where adversaries weaponize built-in tools and living-off-the-land attacks, prevention-first governance is no longer optional. Workshop provides the auditability, enforcement, and assurance that many modern enterprises now prioritize - and they’ll continue building devices around that expectation, not just feature sets.