Ambuj Kumar is incredibly driven and determined.
With a background in electrical engineering, Kumar gained extensive experience in hardware design during his tenure at Nvidia. He played a crucial role in the development of various technologies, including a highly popular high-speed memory controller for GPUs. Following his departure from Nvidia in 2010, Kumar shifted his focus to cybersecurity and went on to co-found Fortanix, a cloud data security platform.
While leading Fortanix, Kumar had a breakthrough idea for his next venture: a cutting-edge tool that harnesses the power of AI to streamline a company’s cybersecurity workflows. This innovation was born out of Kumar’s firsthand observations of the challenges faced by the cybersecurity industry. 
“Security leaders are under a lot of pressure,” Kumar informed Eltrys. CISOs typically have a relatively short tenure, and security analysts often experience high turnover rates. The situation is deteriorating.
In collaboration with Alankrit Chona, Kumar developed Simbian, a powerful cybersecurity platform that seamlessly manages various cybersecurity platforms, security apps, and tools. Simbian has the ability to seamlessly coordinate and manage various security tools, thanks to AI. It can determine the optimal configurations for each product based on a company’s specific security needs and business objectives.
Simbian’s interface allows users to input their cybersecurity goals in plain language. Simbian then provides personalized recommendations and generates automated actions to help users execute their goals.
According to Kumar, the security industry has become highly fragmented as companies prioritize improving their own products. This leads to an increased workload for organizations.
Polls frequently show that businesses waste cybersecurity budgets on an excessive number of tools, as Kumar pointed out. Forbes cited a survey that revealed a significant number of businesses believe they have misallocated a substantial portion of their budgets and are still unable to effectively address security threats. Another study found that organizations are currently managing an average of 76 security tools, leading to a sense of overwhelm among IT teams and leaders.
“Security has always been a constant battle between those who seek to exploit vulnerabilities and those who strive to protect against them,” Kumar remarked. He further emphasized the challenge of an expanding attack surface due to IT’s rapid growth. Additionally, he pointed out the scarcity of skilled professionals in the field. “A recent survey by Cybersecurity Ventures, a VC firm specializing in security, predicts a shortage of 3.5 million cyber experts by 2025.”
The Simbian platform not only automatically configures a company’s security tools but also allows customers to take control of security events while handling the underlying technical aspects. According to Kumar, implementing this approach can greatly reduce the number of alerts that a security analyst needs to address.
However, it is important to note that Simbian’s AI is not immune to making mistakes. It is widely known that AI systems are prone to errors.
In order to reduce the chances of unpredictable behavior, Simbian’s AI underwent training using a unique crowdsourcing method. The company created a “Are you smarter than an LLM?” game on their website, challenging volunteers to intentionally trick the AI into making mistakes. Kumar emphasized that Simbian leveraged this knowledge, in collaboration with in-house researchers, to guarantee that the AI performs optimally in its designated scenarios.
This suggests that Simbian effectively outsourced some of its AI training to unpaid gamers. However, it remains uncertain how many individuals actually participated in the company’s game, as Kumar declined to disclose the information.
Operating a system that manages other systems, particularly those related to security, raises concerns about privacy. Would companies and vendors feel at ease with sensitive data flowing through a single, AI-controlled, centralized portal?
Kumar guarantees the implementation of all essential safeguards against potential data breaches. Simbian utilizes encryption, giving customers full control over their encryption keys. Additionally, customers have the freedom to delete their data whenever they choose.
“You, as a customer, have complete control,” he stated.
Although there are other platforms that have tried to incorporate AI into security tools, Simbian seems to have impressed investors the most. The company recently secured a substantial $10 million investment from a group of esteemed investors, which includes Coinbase board member Gokul Rajaram, Cota Capital partner Aditya Singh, Icon Ventures, Firebolt, and Rain Capital.
“Cybersecurity is a pressing issue in today’s world, characterized by a highly diverse market with numerous vendors,” Rajaram explained in an email to Eltrys. Companies have attempted to develop expertise in particular products and issues. I appreciate Simbian’s approach to creating a comprehensive platform that can effectively handle all security aspects. Although it is a highly challenging approach from a technological standpoint, I have full confidence in Simbian and have invested my money in it. We have a team with diverse expertise, covering everything from hardware to cloud technology.
Simbian, a company based in Mountain View with a team of 15 employees, intends to allocate the majority of its raised capital towards product development. Kumar has set a goal to increase the size of the startup’s workforce by twofold before the year ends.
