European AI rising star Nexos.ai raises $30M to unlock enterprise AI adoption

For astir endeavor companies, AI is either a promise that has yet to deliver oregon a information risk. The effort of Lithuania’s astir celebrated entrepreneur duo to lick that conundrum has garnered attraction — and funding.

Just months aft Nexos.ai came retired of stealth with an $8 cardinal backing circular led by Index Ventures, Nord Security co-founders Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas person closed a €30 cardinal Series A (approximately $35 million) for this caller startup — a a level that helps companies follow AI tools securely by acting arsenic a middleman betwixt employees and AI systems.

In Okmanas’ view, “the biggest firm information leak” is presently successful the making, arsenic employees upload delicate accusation to LLMs. Rather than banning AI use, helium wants Nexos.ai to enactment arsenic a “Switzerland for LLMs,” serving arsenic a neutral intermediary. By sitting betwixt teams and AI tools, the level aims to support information nether power without sacrificing the productivity gains companies privation but fearfulness pursuing.

That operation of seasoned founders tackling a captious endeavor occupation explains wherefore this caller circular was raised truthful soon — with Index and Evantic Capital co-leading astatine a €300 cardinal valuation (approximately $350 million), according to a institution spokesperson. Previous backers Creandum and Dig Ventures besides participated, on with angel backers, including the CEOs of Datadog, Klarna, Supercell, and Wix.

Evantic, the caller task steadfast launched by erstwhile Sequoia Capital spouse Matt Miller, was persistent capable to marque the circular hap adjacent though Nexos.ai wasn’t fundraising, said Okmanas. He and Sabaliauskas famously bootstrapped their erstwhile businesses, including Nord, the $3 cardinal cybersecurity company down NordVPN. But they present spot the value-add from VCs.

In summation to Index’s support, Nexos.ai is present benefiting from Miller’s guidance and his ‘Legends’ network —140 operators who counsel Evantic’s portfolio startups successful speech for a stock of the fund’s profits. Okmanas said helium is some a Legend himself and drafting connected others’ expertise to signifier the merchandise — which is wherever the caller superior volition go.

Currently, Nexos’ AI merchandise consists of an AI Workspace interface for employees and an AI Gateway for developers. The gateway acts arsenic a power furniture for security, outgo management, and compliance oversight portion reducing fragmentation, which Okmanas sees arsenic a cardinal obstruction to AI adoption. The gateway provides a azygous entree constituent to immoderate 200 AI models, and the institution plans to usage its backing to accelerate its enactment of backstage models for delicate data.

Okmanas said his squad is presently doing 50 to 60 demo calls a week, but anticipates that accepted businesses volition person “a batch of homework” to bash to person their boards astir however they privation to follow AI. Nexos.ai could assistance them by making deployment easier. But first, the startup is focusing connected tech-savvy companies that already usage AI daily, arsenic good arsenic companies operating successful regulated industries, which person concerns astir governance and sending delicate information to AI models hosted successful overseas countries.

Okmanas and Sabaliauskas identified the AI governance spread portion overseeing the portfolio of Tesonet, their institution that builds and invests successful startups. Tesonet portfolio companies are besides among the customers that Nexos.ai is disclosing, alongside Bulgarian fintech unicorn Payhawk, which besides has an bureau successful Vilnius. According to a property release, the backing volition present enactment enlargement crossed Europe and North America.

For Okmanas, the ngo is removing barriers to broader AI adoption. While boards statement whether AI tin present existent value, helium points to results wrong Tesonet’s ain portfolio: astatine Hostinger, a web hosting provider, an AI adjunct reduced the request for quality support. Says Okmanas, “That’s wherefore we didn’t request to prosecute 500 radical and saved €10 cardinal this twelvemonth alone.”

Despite talking numbers astatine Hostinger, Okmanas declined to disclose however overmuch gross Nexos.ai itself is generating. Instead, helium said that by the clip the institution celebrates its archetypal anniversary, the squad volition person grown to 100 radical — mostly successful Europe, wherever information sovereignty concerns person besides started to unfastened doors for Nexos.ai astatine nationalist institutions, perchance opening up a caller marketplace beyond its endeavor focus.