Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning cybersecurity startup Protect AI Inc. has secured $35 million in new funding to expand its operations and strengthen its position in the market. The company, founded in 2022 by former employees of Amazon Web Services Inc. and Oracle Corp., offers products aimed at enhancing the security of AI applications by giving organizations the ability to monitor and manage their machine learning environments.
Protect AI addresses a critical issue faced by advanced companies today, which is the lack of a detailed inventory of assets and elements used in their machine learning systems. This problem stems from the rapid growth of supply chain assets, including foundational models and third-party training data sets. Traditional security tools also fail to provide visibility into machine learning systems and data workflows.
To add to the challenge, most organizations lack the necessary skills and resources to identify threats and vulnerabilities in their machine learning supply chain. This creates blind spots and exposes organizations to various issues, such as regulatory non-compliance, data breaches, manipulation of data, model poisoning, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and reputational risks.
Protect AI offers solutions to these challenges through its AI Radar platform. The platform provides visibility into the machine learning attack surface by creating an ML Bill of Materials, which helps organizations identify and fix security vulnerabilities and detect threats in real-time. Additionally, Protect AI’s NB Defense product addresses vulnerabilities in Jupyter Notebooks, a core component used at the beginning of the machine learning supply chain.
Protect AI’s CEO Ian Swanson emphasized the importance of having solutions in place to address the lack of visibility and oversight in AI systems. He highlighted how the company’s innovative offerings enable organizations to build, deploy, and manage safer AI by constantly monitoring and remediating security vulnerabilities and threats.
The recent funding round, led by Evolution Equity Partners LLP, raised $35 million in Series C funding for Protect AI. Other participants in the round included Salesforce Ventures LLC, Acrew Capital LP, Boldstart Ventures LLC, Knollwood Capital LLC, and Pelion Ventures Partners LLC. With this new funding, Protect AI has raised a total of $48.5 million to date.
Protect AI’s focus on enhancing the security of AI and machine learning systems aligns with the increasing importance of cybersecurity in the digital age. As more organizations rely on AI applications, the need for robust cybersecurity measures becomes paramount. By addressing the vulnerabilities and threats present in machine learning supply chains, Protect AI aims to contribute to a safer and more secure AI landscape.
Overall, Protect AI’s latest funding will fuel the company’s growth and enable it to further develop its products and services. With the backing of prominent investors, Protect AI is well-positioned to advance its mission of securing AI systems and combating cyber threats. As the demand for AI cybersecurity solutions continues to rise, Protect AI has the potential to play a significant role in safeguarding organizations and their valuable AI applications.
