GUARDDOG AI’s Post

Part three of our report on Responsible AI is out: What's next and what does it take to win? Here's our take on where the space is going as it develops at lightning speed, and how startups - like the 126 that we mapped last week - can win in an already-crowded enterprise market. https://lnkd.in/dVsuN5kC

🚀 Breaking AI Security News: Lakera Secures $20M Series A! 🛡️💻 Exciting developments in the world of AI security! 🎉 San Francisco-based Lakera, a real-time generative AI (GenAI) security company, has just raised $20M in Series A funding. Let's break it down: 💰 Funding Details: • Series A: $20M • Total raised to date: $30M • Lead investor: Atomico • Other participants: Citi Ventures, Dropbox Ventures, redalpine 👥 The Founders: • David Haber • Mateo Rojas-Carulla • Matthias Kraft 🎯 Company Mission: Lakera is revolutionizing AI security with a comprehensive approach that offers: 1️⃣ Protection without slowing down AI applications 2️⃣ Continuously evolving intelligence to stay ahead of AI threats 3️⃣ Centralized implementation of AI security controls 🌟 Key Innovation: Using AI to evolve defenses in real-time, keeping customers one step ahead of emerging threats. 🔜 What's Next: Lakera plans to: • Invest further in product development • Expand its presence in the US, building on its Silicon Valley foothold 🤝 Notable Update: Atomico Partner Sasha Vidiborskiy will join Lakera's board. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into business operations, securing these systems is more crucial than ever. Lakera's innovative approach could be a game-changer in the GenAI security landscape. #AISecurity #StartupFunding #GenAI #TechInnovation #CybersecurityNews

Investing in AI means investing in security and trust 🔐 With all the outstanding potential that #ArtificialIntelligence offers for companies and society, as a #SecurityTech leader, we are always looking to proactively mitigate potential risks. This is why G+D Ventures recently invested in the promising AI startup Blockbrain. Blockbrain helps companies make use of their internal knowledge while safeguarding it to the fullest extent. The platform optimizes AI-supported processes by intelligently capturing, structuring, and harnessing existing and new knowledge. The no-code solution enables companies to integrate tailor-made automation solutions into their day-to-day work without any programming knowledge. By partnering with early-stage TrustTech startups that use generative AI technologies to tackle the most pressing challenges of cybersecurity and data protection, we are strengthening our commitment to promoting and protecting trust in digital ecosystems. We are excited to work with Blockbrain on their mission to revolutionize knowledge management through the use of cutting-edge technology and AI. 🤝 #ArtificialIntelligence #SecurityTechnology #KnowledgeManagement #TrustTech Michael Tagscherer

Kindo, an enterprise AI security platform, has raised $20.6 million in funding and it also acquired open-source cybersecurity AI project WhiteRabbitNeo. This brings the total funding raised by the company to $27.6 million. Kindo aims to make it safe for enterprises to adopt and manage AI technologies, including generative AI. This new capital will be used to accelerate product development and enhance Kindo’s AI security and management capabilities through advanced R&D to stay ahead of evolving AI risks. Drive Capital led the round, with participation from existing Kindo investors RRE Ventures, Marlinspike Partners, Riot Ventures, Eniac Ventures, New Era Ventures, and Sunset Ventures. “The easiest way to think about this is we’re an orchestration platform that lets enterprises of all sizes really enterprises their best to integrate any AI capabilities or any AI model that’s in the market,” Ron W. said. “It’s in an API. You can integrate it including your own models. In IT and security, you can control who accesses those models, applications or other data sources, and what agents can talk to which models. It gives centralized control.” https://lnkd.in/ebqsDTp4 #AIHWEdgeAISummit #AI #EdgeAI #AIHardware #GenAI

What a year - One year after winning RSA Conference 2023 Sandbox, HiddenLayer continues to solidify its position as a frontrunner in AI security. In the past 12 months, company led by co-founder and CEO Chris Sestito closed a $50 million Series A round, signed partnerships with the likes of Microsoft Security Copilot, and built a solid enterprise leadership team. Here are its major milestones: Recognitions: Crowned the Most Innovative Startup at RSA Conference's renowned Innovation #Sandbox contest, surpassing ~3000+ startups. The awards kept coming with CRN naming the company as a Stellar Startup 2023, CB Insights naming it one of the AI 100 Most Promising Startups, and the prestigious SC Media Award for Most Promising Startup. Funding: Closed a ~$50 million in Series A funding, led by industry giants such as M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund and Moore Capital Management Strategic Ventures, Capital One, Booz Allen Hamilton and is also one of the inaugural investments in IBM Ventures $500 million Enterprise AI Venture Fund. This substantial investment empowered the company to expand its research talent pool and fortify its Artificial Intelligence Security (AISec) Platform. Product: Unveiled AI Detection & Response for Generative AI, enriching its platform with cutting-edge capabilities to address emerging security challenges. The United States Department of Defense awarded a Phase 2 Grant to address critical challenges faced by the Department of the Air Force Chief Data and AI Office. Research: Released its first 2024 AI Threat Landscape Report, providing valuable insights into the evolving cybersecurity landscape and actionable strategies for organizations to bolster their security posture. Team: Added over 60 people to grow to a size of almost ~100 members. Key appointments, including Malcolm Harkins as Chief Security and Trust Officer, Andrew Davis as Chief Data Scientist, Hailey Buckingham as Director of Data Science, and Chloé Messdaghi as Head of Threat Intelligence. GTM initiatives: the company launched its Channel Partner Program and the best of all - a partnership with Microsoft Security Co-Pilot. HL will be at RSAC 2024 - come meet us and hear all about how the AISEc world is changing. RSVP here - https://lnkd.in/g7bTtWSx Thank you Chris Sestito Tanner Burns James Ballard Abigail Maines Todd Graham Thomas Pace and Greg Martin...As a seed investor in this company, I couldn't be more proud and grateful for the good work done by many, to protect our future.

Psypher AI leads the way in artificial intelligence and software development, focusing on innovation and security. The company delivers advanced AI applications that boost efficiency and productivity, designed to meet industry-specific needs. Their expertise includes seamless AI integration into existing systems, ensuring smooth transitions. Psypher AI prioritizes robust cybersecurity, using AI-driven solutions to protect against digital threats. Their AI-powered analytics offers businesses deep insights for strategic decisions, while specialized solutions serve sectors like healthcare, finance, and retail, enhancing patient care, risk management, customer engagement, and operational excellence. Psypher AI’s vision is to redefine AI's potential, helping businesses adapt and thrive. Website link:- https://psypher.ai/ #startup #ai #machinelearning #entrepreneurship #YoungFounder #ML #StartupJourney

Why Palantir Technologies alumni are great at founding impactful companies: • They've solved hard problems at scale. • They know how to build products enterprises & governments actually use. • They've seen firsthand how data can transform industries. We’ve posted about ex-Palantir founders before, but here are even more that can call themselves part of the ‘Palantir Mafia’: Alex Arjun Dhillon is building the future of content intelligence at Outtake. Outtake is automating cybersecurity & legal workflows for some of the world's most recognizable organizations by tackling gritty problems in identity, authenticity, and multi-modal AI. Anneli Scopazzi founded Boulevard Recruiting. After scaling teams at Palantir and Figma, she's partnering with both startups and VCs to build out early teams. John Doyle founded Cape, a privacy-first mobile network with secure 5G/4G coverage nationwide. The mobile carrier also blocks hackers and spam. Youssef Rizk and Dimitris Nikolaou were colleagues at Palantir. They went on to found Wondercraft (YC22), an AI-powered audio creation studio for brands and creative teams. Mihir P.  founded Overstand Labs (YC24), a cross-selling platform for enterprise companies. Their AI product has perfect awareness of all your product features and customers, to ensure no revenue is left on the table. Steve Heitkam co-founded Hence Technologies to help companies manage legal risks from geopolitics. Hence helps firms establish efficient legal processes that support smarter decision-making over time. Nick Noone co-founded Peregrine, a platform providing real-time data integration and visualization to help public safety agencies make better decisions. Shaun Springer co-founded Archetype Labs to transform how businesses build custom software. They help companies create tailored software with their AI-driven, no-code tool without the steep cost of custom solutions.

If you aren't already following Mark Buonforte and Defense Technology Venture Capital, you should. He's a great guy, and I had the opportunity to sit down and have a fun conversation with him about my company Hathr, and also the future of cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance for AI. Check out the article and subscribe to Mark's Substack, and to learn more about Hathr, and check out our website at https://hathr.ai. It's a wild world out there, and people like Mark are making it easier to understand and process what's happening in Defense Tech! #privateAI #GOVCON #businessdevelopment

The proliferation of foundation models is redefining what it means to be a technical founder. Satyam Sinha exemplifies the evolving skillset required to build AI-native companies. After recognizing AI's trajectory while VP of Engineering at Palo Alto Networks, he made a decisive move—resigning shortly after to tackle AI security head-on. Satyam's approach to founding Acuvity demonstrates key attributes for AI-native startups: → Swift problem identification: AI security and governance → Team assembly: leveraging 8+ years of shared experience → Novel technical approach: using AI models to monitor AI usage → Rapid execution: securing early customers within months of founding Satyam's edge comes from his transition from pure technologist to business-savvy founder. At his previous startup Aporeto, he pushed himself to move between engineering and GTM teams. This experience equipped him to address the full spectrum of challenges in building an AI company. Most talk about AI. A select few are building it. Leading Acuvity’s $9M Seed reflects our conviction in Satyam and cofounder Antoine Mercadal, their vision, and the urgent need for robust AI security solutions. Proud to lead this round! Foundation Capital

When we talk about the future of tech and analytics, Asia's startups are leading the way. Our latest article spotlights some of the most innovative and ground-breaking analytics startups revolutionizing the industry right from Tel Aviv. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gkP2PV4w Featuring: RevealSecurity, founded by Adi Degani, David Movshovitz, and Doron Hendler, detecting malicious insiders and imposters in enterprise applications. Compete, founded by Amit Rapaport and Jonathan Wasserman, providing data and analysis for tech companies. Velotix, founded by Adam Ben Gur, Adi Hod, and Uriel. Ekstein, offering AI-driven data protection and access permission platform. lakeFS, founded by Einat Orr and Oz Katz, introducing an open source data version control for data lakes. DeepDAO, founded by Eyal Eithcowich, offering extensive analytics and data for decentralized autonomous organizations. Safe School Analytics , an organization producing content to support social and emotional learning. Acropolis, founded by Kevin Cohen, redefining information governance. Tensorleap, founded by David BenDavid, Nir BenDavid, and Yotam Azriel, offering a debugging and explainability development platform for neural networks. Loops, a platform running analyses and finding growth opportunities in data. CySource, an AI interactive cyber workforce development platform. Theia Vision AI, an AI-based tech company providing image recognition solutions for trade-show and conference exhibitors. These companies represent not just the evolution of the analytics field, but also where technology is headed as a whole. #AnalyticsStartups #TechRevolution #AsianStartups #TelAviv