Israeli cybersecurity startup Aim Security raises $10m to secure generative AI enterprise adoption

Israeli cybersecurity startup Aim Security raises $10m to secure generative AI enterprise adoption

Published: 01-02-2024 11:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 1535 | Tags:

Aim Security, an Israeli cybersecurity startup offering enterprises a holistic, one-stop shop GenAI security platform, announced $10 million in seed funding. The round was led by YL Ventures, with participation from CCL (Cyber Club London), the founders of WIZ and angel investors from Google, Proofpoint and Palo Alto Networks. Aim Security was founded by cybersecurity veterans Matan Getz, CEO and Adir Gruss, CTO who pioneered the use and adoption of AI and big data tools in the IDF’s elite intelligence Unit 8200.

Generative AI isn’t the future of technology, it’s the present. McKinsey & Company’s report on “The State of AI in 2023” states that one-third of respondents use GenAI regularly in at least one business function and 40% of respondents indicate that their organizations plan to increase their investment in AI overall. Interestingly and concerningly, 53% of those surveyed in McKinsey’s report consider cybersecurity risks the most acute risks of GenAI adoption, but only 38% of respondents who reported GenAI adoption state that they are able to mitigate GenAI risks.

Drew Robertson, CISO, Finance of America: ''The stringent regulations of the finance industry and our concern for our customers’ data make GenAI adoption challenging. Aim secures the entire breadth of our GenAI use, no matter where it is applied — public SaaS apps, enterprise chats or our own internal developments - and helps us place and enforce the guardrails that fit our industry regulations and unique needs.''

GenAI is implemented in three main ways, each with its unique risk surface. Public GenAI tools and 3rd party apps with embedded GenAI features accelerate how employees send sensitive data to external tools. Some of these tools may be ungoverned and unsanctioned by security teams, who must then chase the adoption of these Shadow AI tools, mapping each of their unique risks and understanding what tools are training their models on the data submitted. In addition, there is a massive and growing adoption of GenAI-powered copilots by enterprises. These hyper-productivity tools connect to the company’s environment and may break all existing trust boundaries, flatten the authorization layer and create unauthorized data access.

Companies have also realized the immense value of using GenAI agents and AI-led development to augment their own applications, leading to ownership and GenAI regulation issues, safety questions regarding malicious and manipulated GenAI output and unique attack vectors such as jailbreaks and prompt injection. Traditional security tools lack the specific expertise required to understand the foundations of GenAI and the scope of its risk, and these are blind spots that organizations can’t see until it’s too late.

Matan Getz, CEO and Co-founder, Aim Security: ''This enormous risk surface is replete with unique attack vectors that existing security solutions cannot sufficiently address. Much like the cloud revolution and the bespoke security solutions that followed, the GenAI revolution requires an entirely new approach to addressing its unique vulnerabilities and vectors.''

Across the organization, business users and developers can leverage GenAI technology while Aim provides security teams with the oversight, visibility and control they never had. Aim’s unparalleled GenAI Protection Suite is a holistic platform that is dedicated to continuously addressing these risks while ensuring increased productivity and secure GenAI adoption.

Ofer Schreiber, Senior Partner, YL Ventures: ''While the market is still finding its footing in the GenAI wilderness, Aim is already arming its customers with everything they need to address emerging GenAI security threats while providing invaluable business insights on GenAI use. Matan and Adir are true visionaries whose innovative approach is crucial when breaking into a constantly evolving new sector. They already have a strong customer base, indicating an exceptional ability to quickly execute while continuing to address customer needs along their GenAI journey.''

A comprehensive security solution for any GenAI use, Aim goes beyond security. It provides organizations with critical insights that augment their understanding of how GenAI can be used to drive business goals.

www.aim.security