Seattle-based Protect AI, a cybersecurity startup founded in 2022 by former engineering leaders at Amazon and Oracle, announced on Thursday a fresh $60 million Series B round led by Evolution Equity Partners. This latest funding comes on the heels of a $35 million Series A round raised a year ago, with additional investors including 01 Advisors, StepStone Group, Samsung, and Acrew Capital. The company, valued at $400 million according to Bloomberg, has also made strategic acquisitions of Laiyer AI and SydeLabs this year, expanding its capabilities in helping companies monitor and secure their machine learning and AI systems.
Protect AI offers five products that cater to a range of customers from national security organizations to Fortune 500 companies. The demand for cybersecurity in the AI and machine learning space has been growing rapidly, with AI startups receiving a significant portion of funding in recent years. According to CBInsights, AI startups raised nearly a third of all dollars during the second quarter, while cybersecurity startups saw a 144% increase in funding during the same period. Protect AI CEO and co-founder Ian Swanson highlighted the need for security guardrails in AI systems that are not adequately covered by existing security providers, signaling a gap in the market that their products aim to address.
Ian Swanson, who has previously founded two other startups, Sometrics and DataScience, brings a wealth of experience in the technology industry. His co-founders, Badar Ahmed and Daryan Dehghanpisheh, also have extensive backgrounds in engineering leadership roles at Oracle and AWS. Protect AI has made previous acquisitions of Rebuff and Huntr, demonstrating a strategic approach to expanding its portfolio of products and services. The company currently employs 75 people across Seattle, Berlin, and Bangalore, with plans to hire an additional 50 people this year as it continues to grow and scale its operations.
The increasing reliance on AI technologies across various industries has prompted organizations to prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect their systems from potential threats. This has created a favorable environment for cybersecurity startups like Protect AI to thrive and secure significant investments from venture capital firms. The company’s focus on providing security solutions specifically tailored for AI and machine learning systems sets it apart in a competitive market where traditional security providers may not offer the specialized protection needed for these evolving technologies.
With the latest round of funding and strategic acquisitions, Protect AI is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for cybersecurity solutions in the AI space. The company’s track record of success, along with its experienced leadership team, bodes well for its continued growth and expansion into new markets. As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, Protect AI is poised to play a key role in helping organizations safeguard their AI and machine learning systems from potential security threats, ensuring the integrity and reliability of their operations in an increasingly digital world.
