Irby Thompson is an Operating Partner with Washington Harbour Partners, bringing over two decades of experience as a national security executive and serial entrepreneur. He has a proven track record of launching and scaling cybersecurity companies from inception through successful acquisition, with multiple exits to strategic acquirers including Raytheon, Wind River Systems, and Leidos.

At Washington Harbour, Mr. Thompson advises the firm and its portfolio companies on strategy, organizational growth, and execution — helping translate advanced research into operational capability and integration-ready platforms. He also oversees strategy for SIXGEN, a portfolio company focused on delivering mission-aligned cyber capabilities, including applied research and development, cyber operations services, and security engineering.

Mr. Thompson is the founder of Containment AI, a secure control plane for enterprise and autonomous AI agents that applies NSA-certified security architectures to mitigate systemic risk from non-aligned or adversarial AI behavior. Previously, he co-founded and served as CEO of OP[4] (the “Opposing Force”), an offensive cybersecurity company built around DARPA automation technology, which was acquired by Kudu Dynamics in 2024. He subsequently served as SVP of Business Development & Strategy at Kudu through its acquisition by Leidos in 2025. He also founded and led Star Lab Corp. through its acquisition by Wind River Systems in 2020, where he continued as VP of Product Security. Earlier, he served as COO and VP of Operations at Pikewerks Corporation through its acquisition by Raytheon.

Mr. Thompson earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics, with a minor in Management of Technology, from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Science in Information Security from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A recognized thought leader in the field, he has presented at numerous security conferences including Black Hat and DEFCON.