Listen to this article
Protect AI has secured $60 million in Series B funding to enhance its AI Security Posture Management platform, which provides comprehensive protection for AI and ML systems. The company plans to use the funding to drive innovation, expand its team, and strengthen partnerships, ensuring robust security across the AI lifecycle. With significant growth and strategic acquisitions, Protect AI continues to lead in AI security.
Massive Investment Drives AI Security to New Heights
Protect AI has secured $60 million in Series B funding, led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from 01 Advisors, StepStone Group, Samsung, and other investors. This brings the total funding raised by the company to $108.5 million. The infusion of capital is set to accelerate Protect AI’s growth and drive innovation in AI security, enabling the company to enhance its comprehensive AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) platform and expand its market presence.
Unveiling Protect AI’s Comprehensive Security Platform
Protect AI’s AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) platform is designed to provide end-to-end security for AI systems and applications. The platform offers robust capabilities for threat detection, compliance monitoring, and risk management. Key features include:
- Guardian: Scans both internally built and externally acquired ML models for security threats.
- Layer: A dedicated tool for LLM security, observability, and governance.
- Radar: Provides AI/ML bill of materials with a strong policy engine.
- Sightline: An AI/ML threat feed based on research from Protect AI’s extensive huntr community.
These features ensure comprehensive protection for AI models and data throughout their lifecycle, helping organizations to secure their AI environments effectively.
Expanding the Horizons of AI Security
The $60 million funding will be used to drive the next phase of innovation for Protect AI. The company plans to allocate resources to research and development, customer success, sales expansion, and strengthening channel programs. By the end of 2024, Protect AI aims to expand its team by hiring 50 additional employees. This strategic growth will support the company’s objective to enhance its technological lead in the AI security sector, providing customers with even more advanced security capabilities.
A Year of Significant Growth and Achievements
Since raising $35 million in Series A funding one year ago, Protect AI has made significant strides in the AI security market. The company has expanded its product portfolio from one to five comprehensive solutions, making it a leading provider of end-to-end AI security. Notable acquisitions include Rebuff, Huntr, Laiyer AI, and SydeLabs, each contributing to the robustness of Protect AI’s offerings.
The huntr AI/ML threat research community has grown to over 15,000 members, playing a critical role in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in AI/ML supply chain projects. Protect AI’s open-source offerings have been downloaded millions of times, and its platform MLSecOps.com remains a leader in AI security education and knowledge sharing. These achievements underscore Protect AI’s commitment to advancing AI security and its impact on the industry.
Recommended: Matera Secures $100 Million Investment From Warburg Pincus To Expand In North America
Addressing the Evolving AI Security Landscape
Key executives at Protect AI emphasize the critical need for comprehensive AI security across various industries. Ian Swanson, Co-Founder and CEO, and Richard Seewald of Evolution Equity Partners, highlight the rapid deployment of AI across sectors and the corresponding rise in security threats. Protect AI’s AI-SPM platform addresses these challenges by providing continuous monitoring, managing vulnerabilities, and ensuring compliance with security policies. This proactive approach helps organizations minimize the risks associated with breaches, misuse, and other security threats.
Leveraging Partnerships for Enhanced Security Solutions
Protect AI collaborates with channel partners, integrators, and resellers to enhance the security of AI environments globally. A notable partnership with World Wide Technology (WWT), a leading technology solutions provider, exemplifies this strategy. WWT integrates Protect AI’s comprehensive AI-SPM platform into its offerings, enabling secure AI transformations for large public and private organizations.
Todd Hathaway, Global Practice Manager for AI Security Solutions at WWT, underscores the alignment of Protect AI’s platform with WWT’s mission to deliver digital security excellence. The partnership allows WWT to offer cutting-edge, secure AI and generative AI outcomes to its clients, ensuring robust protection for AI/ML systems.
Innovations and Future Directions in AI Security
Protect AI continues to innovate and enhance its security platform, focusing on providing unique capabilities for every element of AI-SPM. Upcoming enhancements include advanced security features for various stages of the AI development lifecycle. The company’s future plans involve supporting global customers in building safer AI-powered applications, addressing the increasing complexity of AI security threats.
The recent acquisition of SydeLabs and its product, SydeBox, exemplifies Protect AI’s commitment to innovation. SydeBox is an automated red teaming tool for GenAI systems, helping customers identify vulnerabilities and improve the security of their LLM-based applications. This addition to Protect AI’s platform further strengthens its position as a leader in AI security.
The Road Ahead for Protect AI
Protect AI’s mission is to lead the AI security category for years to come, helping organizations build a safer AI-powered world. The $60 million funding is a significant milestone in achieving this vision, enabling Protect AI to continue innovating and expanding its capabilities. By focusing on comprehensive AI security posture management, the company aims to provide unmatched protection for AI applications and systems worldwide.
With a strong foundation of strategic partnerships, a growing product portfolio, and a dedicated team, Protect AI is well-positioned to address the evolving security needs of the AI industry. The company’s ongoing efforts to enhance AI security will play a crucial role in ensuring the safe and reliable deployment of AI technologies across various sectors.
Please email us your feedback and news tips at hello(at)dailycompanynews.com
