Cybersecurity companies are increasingly looking to artificial intelligence tech to improve defense systems and create the next generation of cyber protection.
Two developments are driving this trend:
- First, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is outstripping the supply of qualified personnel, as the number and severity of attacks rise.
- Second, previously unknown attack types, known as “zero-day attacks” are also on the rise.
These trends are driving demand for automated cybersecurity, i.e. AI-driven software that can use machine learning and other technologies to differentiate benign or harmful activity on a system or network.
We used CB Insights data to understand when artificial intelligence began to be linked to cybersecurity, and we identify 13 companies to watch at the intersection of AI and security.
Trends analysis — cybersecurity, AI, and machine learning have arrived
To inform our analysis in the charts below, we used the Trends tool on the CB Insights Platform, which analyzes millions of media articles to track technology trends.
In the chart above, it is clear that 2016 is the year that cybersecurity, AI, and machine learning all became prominent terms. However, these terms are not new. As early as 2012-2014, we see that press mentions of the three technologies were beginning to go up, and at nearly the same rate. As more technologies were deployed in each area, and became more well-known in the business world and to the larger public, the terms began appearing in far more news articles, with mentions increasing dramatically late in 2016.
Trends analysis — cybersecurity, AI, and ML in the same conversation
Looking at the chart above, we can see that this year cybersecurity and AI have increasingly been discussed in the same articles, showing that they have become increasingly linked in media chatter. Co-mentions for cybersecurity and ML are also rising in 2016, though less frequently.
Companies to watch using AI in cybersecurity
The following list is populated with cybersecurity companies we identified using the CB Insights database that all leverage some form of ML and/or AI.
This list is organized by the amount of the companies’ total disclosed funding as of 10/26/2016.
| Company | Description | Total Disclosed Funding $M | Select Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanium | A real-time endpoint management solution that provides instant visibility into networked devices through natural language processing, to allow enterprises to collect data and update machines across networks. | $295M | Executive Press, Andreessen Horowitz, Nor-Cal Invest |
| Cylance | Applies AI algorithms to predict, identify and stop malware and mitigate damages from zero-day attacks. | $177M | Khosla Ventures, Fairhaven Capital, Citi Ventures |
| LogRhythm | Offers threat intelligence and analytics, for organizations to rapidly detect, respond to and neutralize threats, in addition to compliance automation and assurance, and enhanced IT intelligence. | $126M | Access Venture Partners, Siemens Venture Capital, Exclusive Ventures |
| Darktrace | Pairs behavioral analytics with advanced mathematics to automatically detect abnormal behavior in organizations. | $107M | SoftBank Group, Samsung Ventures, Ten Eleven Ventures |
| Sift Science | Provides real-time machine learning fraud prevention solutions for online businesses. | $54M | Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, SV Angel |
| Exabeam | Offers user behavior analytics that leverage existing log data to quickly detect advanced attacks, prioritize incidents and guide effective responses. | $35M | Aspect Ventures, Icon Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners |
| E8 Security | Provides intelligence and analytics software alongside a big data platform for long-term data retention and retrospective analysis. | $22M | Allegis Capital, March Capital Partners, Strategic Cyber Ventures |
| CyberX | Designed for industrial internet networks to detect abnormal behavior by analyzing the operational behavior of the networks. | $11M | ff Venture Capital, Flint Capital, GlenRock Israel |
| Interset | Offers behavioral analytics to protect critical data across the manufacturing, life sciences, high-tech, finance, government, aerospace and defense, and securities brokerage industries. | $10M | In-Q-Tel, Anthem Venture Partners, Telesystem |
| PatternEx | A platform to identify malicious user intent by enabling users to predict and prevent cyber attacks in real time, across an enterprise network. | $8M | Khosla Ventures |
| SecBI | Offers an advanced threat detection system that uncovers cyber attacks, including all affected users, domains, assets and more. | $5M | Amichai Shulman, Connecticut Innovations, Jerusalem Venture Partners |
| Avata Intelligence | Delivers descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics to understand and respond to security threats. | $2.5M | Aristos Ventures |
| Jask Labs | Leverages artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to keep corporate data and operations secure. | $2M | Battery Ventures, Vertical Venture Partners, Undisclosed Investors |
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