AI implementation was rising. But safety was n’t keeping up.
This basic information laid the groundwork for , a Seattle-based security company that last week its acquisition to Palo Alto Networks.
We caught up with Protect AI CEO and co-founder to learn more about the business ’s voyage and keys to success along the way.
Swanson started and sold two enterprise software startups ( Sometrics to American Express; DataScience to Oracle ) before launching Protect AI in 2021 with his co-founders and .
Swanson left Oracle in 2019 and spent two years at Amazon Web Services, where he led global go-to-market team working on AI and machine learning providers.
“We saw thousands and thousands of companies putting AI out there at level— and we saw safety threats, ” Swanson said. “ I did n’t see that anybody was really solving those risks or diving deep to understand what new innovations were needed as it related to the security of AI. ”
It took some trial and error in the early days of Protect AI to get the company playing.
The company originally focused on a field called hostile system learning but did n’t discover little traction.
After it realized that many clients were deploying machine learning models at a large scale — with gaping security blind spots that left their enterprise system exposed to bad actors.
Finally, ChatGPT went viral.
“The conversation at every office flipped overnight, ” Swanson said. Instantly companies wanted to know how they could expand digital change with help from AI.
That approach required a new method to security — and led to tailwinds for a business like Protect AI.
The company took a special method by building a full-stack, enterprise-ready Artificial protection platform.
It made four expansions to help support that perception, starting by risk study area Huntr in 2023, and after buying Reject, , and .
The acquisition strategy drew concern from some of the company ’s investors, Swanson said, given that Protect AI had n’t raised a huge amount of capital at the time.
But that bet paid off as it helped promote the company ’s goal of being a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to secure their machine learning models.
Swanson said making little acquisitions is something most early stage companies aren’t thinking about.
“If you’re ready to go find clubs that aren’t costing you tens of millions of dollars — that could be a way to move faster and with more accuracy, ” he said.
He also said making sure the product was “enterprise-ready ” as quickly as possible was a key lesson from the Protect AI journey.
“It was n’t just about building a very specific product, ” Swanson said. “It was, how do you hire the best? How do you create the most perfect perception out there as quickly as possible, so that you can not just plant the flag to say we possess this market, but also show customers that you’re really thinking big, and that you’re enterprise-ready. ”
While other rivals offered solutions to particular problems, Protect AI may meet with a prospective customer and resolve many security-related needs. “That was a lot easier than them trying to do a business image with this brand new market segment that, very honestly, no one really knew however, ” Swanson said.
The company ’s members also had critical skills from their previous jobs leading some of the biggest AI businesses in the world.
“That was different than what a lot of cybersecurity companies had, ” he said. “They came from security, but they did n’t really understand AI, especially at the depth of our team. ”
After founding and selling three startups, Swanson said he’s learned over and over again about the importance of people.
“You can’t build great products without an amazing team behind it, nor can you sell to the world’s biggest companies without a team that understands how to build those relationships, ” he said.
Swanson shared other tips for entrepreneurs:
- Don’t fixate on high valuations early on. He advised raising the capital you need, but being careful not to over-inflate valuation. “Founders oftentimes worry too much about the valuation, especially early days, ” he said. “They want a vanity valuation, a high valuation that can actually hurt you more times than not. ”
- Think beyond the MVP. Swanson said founders should work backwards from their future customers, pricing strategy, and go-to-market model — not just focus on shipping a minimum viable product.
- Have a long-term vision. He underscored the importance of future thinking — anticipating market evolution, competitive dynamics, and customer needs — even in the early days. “ I think that ’s the role of a good CEO— you ’ve got to look around corners, he said. “You’ve got to have a far horizon. ”
Protect AI raised$ 108. 5 million from investors including Acrew Capital, Aviso Ventures, boldstart ventures, Evolution Equity Partners, Knollwood Capital, Pelion Ventures, 01 Advisors, Samsung, StepStone Group, and Salesforce Ventures.
Most of the company ’s capital came from outside the Seattle region. Swanson, who moved to Seattle in 2019, said this was just a byproduct of connections he built from his previous two startups. “ When we raised, we pretty much raised from people we knew, ” he said. “We never did a road show. ”
The acquisition deal with Palo Alto is expected to close later this year. Sources familiar with the deal say it was valued north of$ 500 million.
Protect AI plans to continue growing out of its downtown Seattle office. The company employs around 120 people across Seattle, Berlin, and Bangalore, according to Linked In.