Ethena, an AI compliance platform, reported over 60% year-over-year growth in the first half of 2026, marking its strongest quarter to date. The company's second quarter saw record net-new business, with enterprise net dollar retention reaching 129%. The growth stems from compliance teams rapidly adopting Ethena's AI-native platform, which features specialised agents for training, policy management, disclosures, and analytics. These agents work alongside compliance teams to automate tasks whilst maintaining human oversight. Ethena appointed Billy Hughes as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Hughes joins from Circana, where he led global ethics and compliance, and previously held positions at Victoria's Secret and CEB/Gartner. The platform, which launched its training agent in January 2026, now serves over 2,000 organisations. Ethena ranks 24th on Forbes's America's Best Startup Employers list.

Ethena announces record first half of 2026 and new CECO as compliance leaders embrace agentic compliance. Accelerating enterprise demand for Ethena's AI agents drives more than 60% year-over-year growth; company names Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, August 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ - Ethena, the AI compliance platform, today announced a record first half of 2026, capped by its strongest quarter to date. Growth accelerated to more than 60% year over year as compliance leaders rapidly moved their programs to Ethena, drawn to the AI-native approach it pioneered with its training agent that builds customized training in minutes. Ethena is building the AI-native platform: a team of specialized AI agents that work alongside compliance leaders to run sophisticated, proactive programs. That team already includes agents for training and policy management. Disclosures and analytics agents are rolling out in the coming months, joining Ethena's established whistleblower hotline and case management system. Ethena posted its largest quarter of net-new business ever in the second quarter of 2026, with enterprise net dollar retention of 129% - a reflection of how quickly customers are expanding from training into this broader compliance platform. "Compliance leaders historically focused on the risks of using AI. We're now seeing a massive shift: compliance teams are seeing an increasingly large risk in not using AI to run tailored, defensible programs. This shift is what's driving our growth," said Roxanne Petraeus, Chief Executive Officer of Ethena. From compliance training to a team of AI compliance agents Ethena's growth reflects a broader shift in how compliance work gets done. Rather than a stack of disconnected tools, Ethena's approach is a team of specialized agents that work across Ethena's growing product suite. Each agent brings distinct expertise, and no agent acts without the compliance team's verification. This "compliance in the loop" approach is what makes the technology trustworthy for the teams accountable to regulators, auditors, and their boards. In the first half of 2026, Ethena moved that vision from concept to product: Training Agent (shipped, January 2026): Ethena's first agent works alongside compliance and L&D teams to personalize any training module to a company's policies, brand, tone, and real-world context. It can reimagine content, build new scenarios, create remedial training, and tailor training by role and employee population, in a fraction of the time manual customization used to take. Policy Agent (shipped, July 2026): Ethena's newest agent helps compliance teams keep policies current by drafting and updating policy language as risks and regulations evolve, with the compliance team reviewing and approving every change. Disclosures Agent (shipping August 2026): The Disclosures Agent reviews and drafts responses to employee disclosures at scale, helping to prioritize, triage, and save time. What was a multi-day manual process becomes minutes each day. Analytics Agent (shipping August 2026): with AI driven analytics, compliance teams can spin up a risk assessment in minutes, not weeks. Questions can be answered across their interconnected data, so they know what their insider training risk is based on policy questions, disclosures, and training knowledge-checks. These agents build on the employee hotline and case management solution Ethena released in 2023 so compliance teams can have a connected program, all under one roof, with all of their analytics in one location. Ethena names Billy Hughes as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer To deepen its enterprise offering and compliance expertise, Ethena has named Billy Hughes as its Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. Hughes joins from Circana, where he led global ethics and compliance, and brings compliance leadership experience from Victoria's Secret and CEB/Gartner. A recognized voice in the field, including as a Compliance Week Rising Star finalist, Hughes has been an early advocate for the responsible use of AI in ethics and compliance programs. "Compliance is at an inflection point. The teams that embrace AI thoughtfully are going to run circles around the ones that don't. I want to help Ethena's customers get there first and do it in a way regulators, auditors, and boards can trust," said Billy Hughes, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer of Ethena. In his role, Hughes will serve as a bridge between Ethena and the compliance leaders it serves, shaping product direction, strengthening Ethena's enterprise offering, and advancing the conversation on how AI can responsibly elevate ethics and compliance programs. About Ethena Ethena is the AI compliance platform building a team of specialized AI agents that work for compliance teams, always keeping compliance in the loop. More than 2,000 organizations trust Ethena to power programs approved by millions of learners. Ethena is #24 on Forbes's America's Best Startup Employers list. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.