Former NSA security experts launch cyber security startup Harvest.ai

Harvest.ai, a cybersecurity start-up specializing in artificial intelligence-based data loss prevention, announced on March 24 that it raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Trinity Ventures. Harvest.ai will use the funding to grow the San Diego, CA-based team and secure new clients.

Led by former NSA field operation team members, Harvest.ai stops data breaches for businesses that have embraced cloud-based services such as Office 365, Google for Work, Salesforce, Box and Dropbox. By understanding data and the impact of data loss to an organization, Harvest.ai applies artificial intelligence to identify any loss before it happens.  The startup formerly known as 405Labs; debuted the new name, Harvest.ai, with the seed announcement.

“We see tremendous progress with how organizations are embracing new thinking around security. It’s not just a malware problem anymore. You need to understand the business value of data being accessed – whether it’s customer records, product designs or digital marketing content. We have successfully applied artificial intelligence to understand both user behavior and the content that is being accessed, the strongest indicator towards detecting targeted attacks and insider threat. Attackers have evolved their techniques to evade traditional perimeter and malware-based security architectures. Through our analytics understanding of content and how it is being accessed, we have a unique ability to detect and stop attacks before data is stolen,” said Alexander Watson, CEO and Founder of Harvest.ai.

“The team at Harvest.ai is redefining data loss prevention,” said Fred Wang, General Partner at Trinity Ventures. “They have built a highly differentiated and impressive technology platform and are reinventing how enterprises identify and monitor sensitive data and information before any loss occurs.” Fred Wang will join the board of Harvest.ai in conjunction with the financing.

Watson launched Harvest.ai in September 2014 after spending 7 years with the NSA, successfully building two startups and leading Websense’s security research team. “We understand that security is no longer a decision and responsibility that sits only with the CISO, but anyone that manages client data including product owners. With deep roots in security research, content analysis, artificial intelligence and mathematics, we are the Justice League of protecting client data,” said Watson.

SOURCE Harvest.ai