About Protect AI
Protect AI is a Technology company based in Seattle (United States) founded in 2022 by Daryan Dehghanpisheh, Badar Ahmed, and Ian Swanson, and was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in April 2025. It operates as an AI-based security solutions for machine learning models are provided. Protect AI has raised $129.3 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Palo Alto Networks, StepStone Group and Evolution Equity Partners. Protect AI has completed 2 acquisitions, including Laiyer AI and SydeLabs. Its chief executive is Ian Swanson. Its website protectai.com draws about 40 thousand monthly visits. Protect AI offers products and services including Guardian, Recon, Layer, ModelScan, and LLM Guard. Its focus areas include High Tech, AI Infrastructure, Enabling Technologies and Software. Its legal entity is PROTECT AI, INC. Its competitors include Private AI, Robust Intelligence, HiddenLayer, Cranium and SydeLabs and 1 more; 6 of its 6 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Protect AI was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Seattle, United States. Operations focus on the AI and machine learning security sector, where a platform is offered to enterprises for protecting ML models. Turnkey security measures are implemented without introducing additional complexity to models or necessitating access to raw data and algorithms. Services emphasize straightforward safeguards for AI deployments across various industries.
- Headquarters Seattle, United States
- Founders Daryan Dehghanpisheh, Badar Ahmed, Ian Swanson
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTechnology
- Website category Computers Electronics and Technology · Computer Security
- Email••••••••
- Website protectai.com
- Social LinkedIn X YouTube
- Acquired by Palo Alto Networks (Apr 2025)
- Legal Name Protect Ai, Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$129.3M (USD)
in 3 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$80.8M (USD), Series B
Jul 2024
- InvestorsPalo Alto Networks
& 13 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsLaiyer AI
& 1 more
- Acquired byPalo Alto Networks
(Apr 2025)
Products & Services of Protect AI
Protect AI offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Guardian, Recon, Layer, ModelScan, and LLM Guard.
Secures AI models against threats with zero compromises.
Automates testing of AI applications for vulnerabilities.
Monitors and stops AI threats during operation.
Scans AI models for security issues in various formats.
Protects large language model applications from risks.
Apps and channels of Protect AI
its YouTube channel Protect AI has 392 subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Protect AI
The most watched videos on Protect AI's YouTube channel, Protect AI (392 subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Protect AI.
Funding Insights of Protect AI
Protect AI has successfully raised a total of $129.3M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $80.8 million completed in July 2024. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $129.3M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Series B — $80.8M
- First Round $13.5M
(Dec 2022)
- Investors Count 13
All 3 funding rounds of Protect AI with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2024 | $80.8M | Series B | – | Evolution Equity Partners | |
| Jul 2023 | $35M | Series A | – | Evolution Equity Partners | |
| Dec 2022 | $13.5M | Seed | – | Acrew Capital, Boldstart Ventures |
14 investors in total: 11 institutional and 3 angel.
Investors in Protect AI
Protect AI has secured backing from 14 investors, including venture fund, angel, and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Palo Alto Networks, StepStone Group and Evolution Equity Partners.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Growth-stage tech companies are funded by this venture capital firm. | – | evolutionequity.com | New York, United States | |
Venture advisory services are provided to startups and investors. | – | 01a.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Diversified asset management firm and private fund focused on debt, equity, and secondary market investments in multiple sectors | 2007 | stepstonegroup.com | New York, United States | |
Early-stage startups are funded by Acrew Capital venture firm. | – | acrewcapital.com | Palo Alto, United States | |
Venture capital firm focused on crypto infra, and SaaS companies | – | boldstart.vc | Miami, United States | |
Early-stage tech startups are funded by corporate-backed Salesforce Ventures. | – | salesforceventures.com | San Francisco, United States | |
US focused early-stage VC firm | – | pelionvp.com | Salt Lake City, United States | |
Investments are directed toward semiconductors, telecommunications, software, and medical sectors. | – | samsungventures.com | Seoul, South Korea | |
Private equity investments in the internet sector are targeted. | – | kwiadvisory.com | Baltimore, United States | |
Aviso Ventures is focused on investing in enterprise software. | – | avisoventures.com | - |
Investor details for Protect AI
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People of Protect AI
37 people are tracked at Protect AI (13 in leadership, 7 in board & advisors, 17 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Daryan Dehghanpisheh | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Badar Ahmed | Co-Founder & CTO | Leadership |
Ian Swanson | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Juhi Sodani | Head of UX and Design | Leadership |
Tom Shea | Director Of Sales | Leadership |
Alexandra Bush | Head of Marketing | Leadership |
Sean Morgan | Chief Architect | Leadership |
Adam Nygate | Head Of Product, Threat Research | Leadership |
Chris King | Head of Product | Leadership |
Megan Bos | Chief Of Staff | Leadership |
Ankita Kumari | Vp, Product & Strategy | Leadership |
Zoe Hillenmeyer | Head Of Technology Alliances | Leadership |
Tim Gibbs | Director Of Sales, EMEA | Leadership |
Shlomo Kramer | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Jessica Souder | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Ed Sim | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Mark Kraynak | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Andrew Peterson | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Dan Plastina | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Dimitri Sirota | Advisor | Board & advisors |
17 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Protect AI
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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- Professional contacts
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Investments & Acquisitions by Protect AI
Protect AI has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Laiyer AI and SydeLabs.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-based security and risk management solutions are offered for businesses. | sydelabs.ai | San Francisco, United States | 2024 | Jul 2024 | •••• | |
Provider of open source software used to protect LLMs from security threats | laiyer.ai | Berlin, Germany | 2023 | Jan 2024 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Protect AI
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- Exports
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Timeline of Protect AI
6 dated milestones of Protect AI across 3 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Protect AI is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $13.5M.
- Acquisition Acquires Laiyer AI.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $80.8M.
- Acquisition Acquires SydeLabs.
- Exit Acquired by Palo Alto Networks.
Competitors of Protect AI
Protect AI has 6 listed competitors in our database, 6 of them funded. They include Private AI, Robust Intelligence, HiddenLayer, Cranium and SydeLabs, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| private-ai.com | 2019 | Toronto, Canada | $11.15M | 26 | Platform offering privacy solutions for LLMs, API, ASR and more | |
| robustintelligence.com | 2019 | Cambridge, United States | $30M | 30 | End-to-end security for AI models is automated by Robust Intelligence. | |
| hiddenlayer.com | 2022 | Austin, United States | $56M | – | Threat detection solutions for AI models are provided. | |
| cranium.ai | 2023 | Short Hills, United States | $32M | – | AI governance platform for security, compliance, and trust is offered. | |
| sydelabs.ai | 2024 | San Francisco, United States | $2.5M | – | AI-based security and risk management solutions are offered for businesses. | |
| liminal.ai | 2017 | Denver, United States | $5M | – | Horizontal security for generative AI is provided to enterprises. |
Detailed competitors of Protect AI
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
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Web traffic of Protect AI
The website of Protect AI (protectai.com) receives about 40.4K visits a month and ranks #924,914 among all websites worldwide, #2,406 in Computer Security.
- Monthly visits40.4K
▲ 21.7% vs previous month
- Unique visitors15.4K
per month
- Global rank#924,914
among all websites
- Category rank#2,406
Computers Electronics and Technology · Computer Security
- Bounce rate42%
- Pages per visit1.8
- Average visit12 sec
- DevicesDesktop 38% · Mobile 62%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Protect AI. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lasso.security | 100% | 40.6K | #978,485 | View details | |
huntr.com | huntr.com | 95% | – | #516,153 | – |
| reversinglabs.com | 85% | 57K | #615,577 | View details | |
| qualysec.com | 84% | 78.4K | #488,622 | View details | |
| hiddenlayer.com | 83% | 76.2K | #523,883 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Protect AI
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- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
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- Traffic by brand
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Top companies in AI Core Platforms & Infrastructure
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Protect AI (AI Core Platforms & Infrastructure), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Photo editing and sharing apps are developed by Meitu. | 2008 | Xiamen, Fujian, China | USD 525 M | USD 536.99 M | 719 | |
Platform that provides data analysis and management solutions | 2003 | Denver, Colorado, United States | USD 2.46 B | USD 2.87 B | 5,915 | |
OpenAI is engaged in developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies. | 2015 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 180.07 B | – | 11,115 | |
AI-based system-on-chips are developed for advanced driver assistance systems. | 1999 | Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel | USD 530 M | USD 1.89 B | 3,820 | |
AI models and chatbots are offered for industry applications. | 2021 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 132.31 B | – | 6,146 | |
AI and SaaS-based self-driving solutions for autonomous vehicles are provided. | 2017 | Mountain View, California, United States | USD 692.62 M | USD 3 M | 2,619 | |
AI-based conversational solutions are provided for user interactions and learning. | 2021 | Menlo Park, California, United States | USD 193 M | – | 325 | |
Analytics and digital solutions for healthcare and banking are provided. | 1999 | New York, New York, United States | USD 10 M | USD 2.09 B | 59,500 | |
Provider of AI-based drone surveillance solutions for defense and maritime sector | 2017 | Orange, California, United States | USD 11.29 B | – | 9,670 | |
Citation-based AI answer engine with real-time sourcing is operated. | 2022 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 1.72 B | – | 1,401 |
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Related news about Protect Ai
Complete news archive for Protect AI
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Frequently Asked Questions about Protect AI
Protect AI was founded in 2022.
Protect AI is headquartered in Seattle, United States. It is registered at Seattle, Washington, United States.
Ian Swanson is the current CEO of Protect AI. They have also founded this company.
Protect AI is a funded company, having raised a total of $129.3M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $13.5M, raised on Dec 2022.
Protect AI was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Seattle, United States. Operations focus on the AI and machine learning security sector, where a platform is offered to enterprises for protecting ML models. Turnkey security measures are implemented without introducing additional complexity to models or necessitating access to raw data and algorithms. Services emphasize straightforward safeguards for AI deployments across various industries.
Protect AI's top competitors include SydeLabs, Robust Intelligence and HiddenLayer.
Protect AI offers Guardian, Recon, Layer, ModelScan, and LLM Guard.
Protect AI has 14 investors. Key investors include Palo Alto Networks, StepStone Group, Evolution Equity Partners, 01 Advisors, and Acrew Capital.
Protect AI operates through Protect Ai, Inc..
Yes. Protect AI was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in April 2025.