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Evaluator, government test designer and commercial security supplier
AI-security company funded by philanthropy and venture capital and hired by the UK government to help design and run AI evaluations.
Founded by Dan Lahav and Omer Nevo, Irregular was formerly Pattern Labs. A 2024 Good Ventures entry records a $6.8m grant recommended by Open Philanthropy. The company later announced $80m raised with Sequoia and Redpoint. It works with frontier labs on security evaluations and defenses. After its 2026 containment failures, it proposed industry guidance while OpenAI affirmed the continuing partnership.
Founded by Dan Lahav and Omer Nevo, Irregular was formerly Pattern Labs. A 2024 Good Ventures entry records a $6.8m grant recommended by Open Philanthropy. The company later announced $80m raised with Sequoia and Redpoint. It works with frontier labs on security evaluations and defenses. After its 2026 containment failures, it proposed industry guidance while OpenAI affirmed the continuing partnership.
A co-authored AI-security agenda discloses that its recommendations could expand Irregular’s market. RAND describes an independent conflict-aware review process.
The UK records a February 2024 cyber/advisory award corrected to £293,151 and a September 2024 safeguards award of £459,875. The latter keeps final publication approval with the government while allowing Irregular to retain know-how and commercialize related evaluation products.
In a Sequoia interview, CEO Dan Lahav explains why the company works closely with frontier labs: early exposure helps it prepare security products for the problems other businesses will meet later. Irregular’s privacy policy also describes a subscription service using API calls.
Good Ventures reports the full $6.8 million Pattern Labs award paid in two instalments: $4,533,333 on 5 March 2024 and $2,266,667 on 4 February 2025. Its filings identify a 15 March 2025 grantee report and $2,639,613 expended. The grant agreement and report body remain unavailable.
A distinct £459,000 award commissions priority-capability research, test design, justification of coverage and advice on other DSIT work. The buyer retains approval and publication authority; the supplier retains commercially reusable IP and know-how.
Pattern Labs is named in the government’s invitation-related disclosure for the closed November 2024 Frontier AI Safety Frameworks conference. Open Philanthropy is also named. The organizers are UK AISI and GovAI.
AISI attacks and safeguards contract (September 2024) → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Order form names Pattern Labs Tech Inc. Special Term 1 retains supplier know-how and permits commercialization of related evaluation products.
AISI accessible cyber evaluations contract (September 2024) → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
The contract names Pattern Labs Tech Inc.; it reserves background IP and know-how and allows related commercial evaluation products.
UK Department for Science,Innovation and Technology → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
DSIT April 2025 spending ledger records transaction 668259 to Pattern Labs Tech Inc. under AISI consultancy expenditure.
Good Ventures → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
The foundation’s expenditure-responsibility statement dates this instalment of the $6.8 million Pattern Labs award.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Frontier AI Safety Frameworks conference (November 2024)
2026-09-19
Pattern Labs appears in the organization list disclosed in response to questions about invitations.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Good Ventures
2026-09-19
Good Ventures records a Pattern Labs grantee report dated 15 March 2025 and $2,639,613 expended.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Anthropic
2026-09-19
Anthropic identifies Irregular as the evaluation partner involved in the July disclosure.
AISI cyber and advisory contract (February 2024) → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
The award identifies Pattern Labs Tech Inc., the legal name disclosed by Irregular.
The company’s later launch announcement explicitly identifies Irregular as the former Pattern Labs and announces $80 million raised with Sequoia and Redpoint. The name change is publicly acknowledged. The earlier grant’s old live URL now redirects to Good Ventures’ giving overview; the historical entry is available in the archive.
Read the research & sources ↗AP reports that Meta also hired Irregular and disclosed an internet-access misconfiguration. The map marks this relationship as reported from company statements. We have not acquired a standalone Meta postmortem.
Read the research & sources ↗Irregular’s August 14 account focuses on the shared domain-collision scenario, says it repaired access controls and outlines a white paper on evaluation practice. It also describes the practical pressure of complex tests and short delivery windows.
Read the research & sources ↗Dan Lahav, Irregular’s co-founder and CEO, co-founded Impact Focused Education with Sella Nevo. Sella also co-founded Probably Good and remains a director. His current RAND role is founding director of the Center on AI, Security, and Technology. Older partner biographies still describe the Meselson Center role.
Read the research & sources ↗Follow the evaluator into philanthropic grants, venture investment, EA career organizations and RAND research.
Open diagram →See the shared supplier, its lab relationships and the proposed response to testing failures.
Open diagram →Paid grant instalments, three government contracts, commercial rights and a safety-framework conference connect the evaluator to funders and public institutions.
Open diagram →Good Ventures → $6.8m grant entry / two years → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Good Ventures lists a February 2024 Pattern Labs award. Same grant as the Open Philanthropy recommendation; not an equity investment or payment ledger.
Coefficient Giving → Recommends the $6.8m grant → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Open Philanthropy recommendation named in the Good Ventures entry. One grant with a separate recommender and grant-record publisher; do not add these arrows together.
Sequoia Capital → Venture backing → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Sequoia confirms its investment partnership.
Redpoint Ventures → Venture backing → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Redpoint named in the combined $80m raise. No separate investor amount established.
Dan Lahav → Co-founder / CEO → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Public founder and executive role.
Omer Nevo → Co-founder / CTO → Irregular / Pattern Labs
2026-09-19
Public founder and executive role.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Cyber-evaluation supplier → OpenAI
2026-09-19
OpenAI identifies its testing relationship with Irregular.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Cyber-evaluation supplier → Anthropic
2026-09-19
Anthropic identifies Irregular as the evaluation partner involved in the July disclosure.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Lab security collaboration → DeepMind
2026-09-19
Investor and founder announcements name Google DeepMind as a partner.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Testing supplier, reported → Meta
2026-09-19
Reported by the cited source
AP reports Meta hired Irregular and quotes both organizations on a testing incident. Reported company statements; standalone Meta postmortem not acquired.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Announces best-practice work → Irregular cyber-evaluation guidance initiative
2026-09-19
Supplier proposes shared cyber-evaluation guidance after containment failures.
Irregular / Pattern Labs → Research collaboration → AI Security Priorities: A Field-Wide Agenda
2026-09-19
Research collaboration.