Tibo, a startup that develops cybersecurity products to prevent corporate data leakage when using AI, has closed Pre-A investment round led by Oak Seed Ventures.
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models (LLM), the risk of corporate data being leaked and ingested by AI and LLM services like OpenAI‘s ChatGPT has become increasingly prevalent. Companies like Apple, Samsung, Amazon, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Verizon and many others have banned the use of AI tools internally due to this security concern that confidential information might get leaked when employees use these tools. However, such a policy is like chemotherapy: when it kills the data leakage, it also kills the productivity benefits.
Tibo’s mission is to address this urgent pain by providing companies tools they need to safeguard their sensitive information while allowing employees to use AI at work. Tibo’s belief is, in the age of AI, there will be different AI tools available for different purposes, with each employee having different preferences on which tools to use when. It will be impractical and in fact counter-productive to ban the use of all AI tools. According to Peng Zhao, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Tibo, “Cloud apps are for teamwork, but AI tools will be very personal. CIOs and CISOs are often surprised to discover shadow cloud apps within their organizations. But they should not be surprised to see shadow AI tools in the era of AI. The new norm will be that employees will use as many AI tools as they like to get work done. As new tools are being launched everyday, it will be impossible to ban them all. The shadow IT problem has just exploded with AI.”
To tackle this shadow IT problem, Tibo stops the leakage at the user end-point without compromising user experience. When Tibo’s browser extension detects sensitive content in user entries, it will automatically redact or seamlessly replace the content with synthetic data to prevent the leakage of confidential information, while keeping the user experience and the quality and accuracy of the prompts. Tibo also provides granular audit logs on all data shared with AI tools, so CISOs can see who is sharing what, with whom, with full transparency on the Terms of Service governing that data. By combining state of the art AI technology and best practices in cybersecurity, Tibo aims to give CISOs peace of mind as their organizations transition into the new era of AI in which the workforce leverages AI tools in their day to day work so their organizations remain competitive.
“We don’t want to be just a secure proxy to ChatGPT or another service”, said Peng Zhao, “Tibo is the watchful guardian to any app. You may use whatever tool you want, in whatever way you like. Tibo will be the silent protector to make sure no sensitive data leaked.” Companies like ServiceNow, ING and Telstra have begun using Tibo’s product. Companies that want to stay ahead need to support their workforce in using AI, not block them.
With the new funding, the company plans to aggressively roll out its solution to customers and further develop its technology. “We are thrilled to have the support of Oak Seed Ventures as we continue to innovate and improve our product,” said Peng Zhao, CEO of Tibo. “This investment allows us to expand our sales and marketing efforts, as well as invest in the development of new products to meet the growing demand for data security in the AI market.”
“We are excited to partner with Tibo as they continue to develop innovative solutions for data security in the AI industry,” said Chee We Ng, Partner at Oak Seed Ventures. “Peng is a serial entrepreneur we have been tracking for many years. Peng simply loves to build world-class products and we love his endless pursuit of perfection. We are confident Tibo will pave the way companies adopt AI securely in the workplace, and we look forward to supporting their growth and success.”
The funding round represents a significant milestone for Tibo, as the company continues to establish itself as a leader in the AI security market. With the support of its investors, the company is well-positioned to continue driving innovation and improving data security for companies using AI.
