The AI Castle Needs a Knight: Enter Protect AI
Let’s imagine AI as a medieval castle. It’s cool, it’s complex, and it promises vast riches, but it’s also a wide-open target for all sorts of miscreants. Now, there’s a shiny new startup named Protect AI that’s looking to become the castle’s knight in shining armor, slaying security threats and keeping the AI fortress unscathed.
Funding Fortifications: Protect AI’s $35 Million Series A Round
Protect AI just announced a hefty $35 million Series A funding round. That’s double their initial funding round and brings their total to an impressive $48.5 million. With this treasure trove, CEO Ian Swanson plans to boost Protect AI’s capabilities, expand research, and fire up new open source projects. With a growing team size from 25 to 40 by the end of this year, they’re putting pedal to the metal.
The Mission: Building a Safer AI-Driven World
The brains behind Protect AI, Swanson and Daryan Dehghanpisheh, cut their teeth at AWS and Oracle and played their part in launching DataScience.com. Their mission now? To create a safer AI-driven world.
The AI Risk Landscape: Changing Faster Than You Can Say ‘Cyberattack’
Sure, there isn’t much evidence of AI models or their apps being attacked en masse – yet. However, as AI dips its toes into sensitive sectors like finance and healthcare, the risk landscape could change fast.
Sealing AI Security Gaps: Protect AI’s Services and AI Radar
Protect AI has a range of services aimed at sealing the AI security gaps. The crown jewel, AI Radar, gives an inside look into the AI model building process, examining the data, testing datasets, and the code used. It generates a “MLBOM” – a machine learning bill of materials, not Major League Baseball’s Operation Manual.
Privacy Concerns: Giving Pause to Giants
We’ve seen code vulnerabilities lurking in popular AI open source projects. With increasing cyberattacks on the supply chain, the need for services like Protect AI is rising. It’s not just about avoiding a medieval siege; it’s about ensuring the castle’s foundations are solid and secure.
Going Beyond Just Securing AI Models
AI tools like ChatGPT, while impressive, have given pause to big companies like Samsung, Apple, and Verizon due to privacy and security concerns. A slip here, a leak there, and before you know it, confidential information could end up in the public domain.
Protect AI in the Market: Competition and Standing Out
In the bustling marketplace of AI-defending tools, Protect AI faces competition from the likes of Resistant AI, HiddenLayer, Robust Intelligence, CalypsoAI, and Troj.ai. But with high-profile customers from diverse sectors, Protect AI seems to have carved out a niche of its own.
Conclusion: Protect AI’s Quest to De-risk the AI World
Like a dragon defending its hoard, Protect AI is standing guard at the intersection of AI and security. Is there a downturn in cybersecurity funding? Sure. But Protect AI is on a quest to de-risk the AI world. If they pull it off, they won’t just secure the castle – they’ll become the king of the realm.
