Nexusflow Secures $10.6M to Develop Conversational Interfaces for Enhanced Security Tools

Nexusflow Secures $10.6 Million Seed Funding to Transform Cybersecurity with Generative AI

Nexusflow, an innovative startup harnessing generative AI to streamline the analysis of cybersecurity data, has successfully raised $10.6 million in a seed funding round led by Point72 Ventures, with additional backing from Fusion Fund and notable AI experts in Silicon Valley. This funding round values Nexusflow at $53 million post-money and will be allocated toward hiring, research and development, and ongoing product enhancements, according to founder and CEO Jiantao Jiao.

“We're empowering our clients to lead the way in adopting generative AI,” Jiao stated. “Nexusflow provides significant advantages to security teams by improving their capabilities in multiple ways.” Jiao, a professor of computer science at UC Berkeley, joined forces with Jian Zhang, former director of machine learning software at SambaNova, and Kurt Keutzer, ex-CTO at Synopsys, to create Nexusflow after recognizing that generative AI had the potential to revolutionize the cybersecurity landscape.

It's clear Jiao's vision resonates with others in the industry, as evidenced by Google and Microsoft introducing generative AI enhancements in their security products this year. These developments aim to simplify the process of navigating vast amounts of security data through natural language queries.

“In our increasingly digital world, security professionals face an avalanche of evolving threats,” Jiao mentioned in an email interview. “They deal with a myriad of data sources and tools, turning their responsibilities into a relentless challenge. Security operations centers typically operate with too few personnel to handle the growing demands. While the intersection of generative AI and cybersecurity is gaining traction, it remains less saturated compared to areas like sales or legal.”

According to Jiao, Nexusflow strives to synthesize data from various security knowledge repositories while integrating with existing security tools through APIs. By using open-source large language models that can operate either behind a customer’s firewall or in the cloud, Nexusflow allows users to manage security software and obtain metrics and insights using simple natural language commands.

“The security team can guide Nexusflow using plain English to seamlessly navigate evolving security tools, eliminating steep learning curves and misconfigurations,” Jiao explained. “The true transformative power of generative AI is revealed when it effectively interprets human instructions, synthesizes information from diverse sources, and effortlessly orchestrates complex software operations. This marks a monumental shift in the cybersecurity field.”

However, specific details on how Nexusflow’s models integrate with various security applications and which specific platforms they support remain unclear. Jiao describes a conversational interface that overlays existing security tools, which might pose challenges for some industries with stringent privacy and compliance standards.

Though Nexusflow has yet to onboard any customers, Jiao asserts that “many companies” are exploring proof-of-concept discussions, though the exact number remains undisclosed.

To accommodate growing interest, Nexusflow aims to expand its team from 10 to 20 full-time employees by year’s end.