In the field of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence is often used It means “already implemented”. Security vendors have used AI-based technologies to utilize existing knowledge databases and address talent gaps. As an investor focused on backing scale-up B2B startups in cybersecurity, AI, and DevOps, with recent investments in cybersecurity firm Huntress and AI startup Weights & Biases, I feel fortunate to have a unique perspective on both… Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity companies. For take off in 2024 and beyond.
In my view, organizations today face an uphill battle when protecting their data and networks. Cyber threats are becoming more frequent and severe as potential attack surfaces proliferate and hackers coordinate increasingly sophisticated schemes. Bad actors are becoming more efficient thanks to the power of AI, committing more personal attacks and reaching a broader reach, resulting in billions of dollars in business losses.
At the same time, organizations of all sizes are innovating new defenses at breakneck speed, often also exploiting the capabilities of advanced AI. Companies are looking to find solutions that enable them to improve their performance. According to Gartner, global spending on enterprise security will reach an estimated $188 billion this year and grow to $215 billion by 2024. Security software spending is the area least likely to decrease in IT in the economic downturn, according to Morgan Stanley.
The next wave of successful startups will help companies harness GenAI to improve organizational productivity while preventing attacks.
Next year, they will seek to partner with players, enabling cybersecurity teams to boost productivity and address talent shortages while staying on top of growing threats.
What venture capitalists are looking for in the next wave of cybersecurity startups
The emergence of large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, has opened up new opportunities for AI-based innovation within the industry. Here are some of the features investors will look for in the next crop of successful cybersecurity startups:
Proactive approach to customer education
During the cloud computing revolution, many organizations rushed to implement cloud solutions with security as an afterthought. This has led to some cybersecurity catch-up. Until now, the opposite has been true for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). While companies are keen to reap the benefits of technology, they are keenly aware of the risks of revealing sensitive information or violating customer trust. Concerns have grown amid high-profile data leaks at companies such as… Samsung. In response, many companies have been shy about launching GenAI initiatives, limiting use to a small group or issuing the occasional blanket. the ban.