Protect AI Acquires SydeLabs to Red Team Large Language Models

PRESS RELEASE

SEATTLE -- July 31, 2024 – Protect AI, a leader in AI security, today announced the acquisition of SydeLabs, which specializes in the automated attack simulation (red teaming) of generative AI (GenAI) systems. This strategic acquisition enhances Protect AI's platform ability to test and improve LLM security and extends the company’s lead as the only provider of end-to-end AI security solutions.

SydeLabs: A Leader in AI Red Teaming

Generative AI and LLM adoption are revolutionizing industries. LLMs are being integrated into critical end user applications such as customer service, finance and healthcare. However the complexity and scale of the technology has exacerbated security concerns that traditional application security processes simply can not keep up with or address effectively. 

SydeLabs was founded less than a year ago by former product and engineering leads from Google and MPL, and has quickly established itself as a pioneer in the field of AI security. Based in Bangalore, India, SydeLabs has developed SydeBox, a cutting-edge product designed to provide comprehensive vulnerability assessments for GenAI systems. The talented team from SydeLabs will join Protect AI where they will continue to add local talent in Bangalore to complement our Seattle and Berlin based teams.

“Protect AI is continuously looking to add products to our AI security posture management platform that help our customers build a safer AI-powered world,” said Ian Swanson, CEO of Protect AI. “The acquisition of SydeLabs extends the Protect AI platform with unmatched red teaming capabilities and immediately provides our customers with the ability to stress test, benchmark and harden their large language models against security risks.” 

SydeBox will be integrated into the Protect AI Platform and rebranded as Protect AI Recon. Recon identifies potential vulnerabilities in LLMs, ensuring enterprises can deploy AI applications with confidence. Key features of Recon include no-code integration, model-agnostic scanning, and detailed threat profiling across multiple categories. Recon uses both an attack library and LLM agent based solution for red teaming and evaluating the security and safety of GenAI systems. Protect AI Recon aligns perfectly with the growing demand for robust AI security solutions, driven by formal guidance from NIST, MITRE, OWASP and CISA, as well as mandates like the Executive Order on AI Safety and Security and the EU AI Act.

“The combination of SydeLabs’ SydeBox and Protect AI’s platform provides customers a comprehensive defense-in-depth solution for building, managing, testing, deploying and monitoring LLMs,” said Ruchir Patwa, co-founder of SydeLabs. “We couldn’t be more excited about joining the Protect AI mission and the prospect of what we can achieve in terms of helping companies of all sizes adopt and deploy more secure LLMs and AI applications.”

The new Recon product will enable Protect AI to meet growing customer demand for robust AI security solutions. Customers will benefit from detailed threat profiling across jailbreaks, prompt injection attacks, input manipulations and other attack vectors, which are crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of AI systems. Recon covers six of the OWASP Top 10 for LLM applications.

“Recon, formally SydeBox, has enabled us to identify and fix security blindspots before deploying our GenAI solutions to ensure we are building the most secure and safe LLM powered applications, and that products we serve our customers are free from any security or safety loopholes,” Said Kiran Darisi, CTO and cofounder, AtomicWork.

This acquisition and new product, Recon, further enhances Protect AI’s position as the leader in the AI security market and AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) solutions, differentiating it from competitors and solidifying its market presence. More specifically when used alongside Layer, Protect AI’s LLM observability and monitoring solution, Recon enables organizations to harden the implementation of LLMs against the spectrum of emerging security concerns associated with GenAI usage. Partners and stakeholders will also gain from the enhanced security capabilities, ensuring that the entire AI ecosystem is better protected against potential threats.

About SydeLabs

SydeLabs is a pioneering AI security company specializing in automated red teaming for GenAI systems. Founded by former leaders from Google and MPL, SydeLabs has developed SydeBox, a leading product designed to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in LLMs. SydeLabs’ products have been adopted by enterprises to make GenAI models and applications safe and secure, giving them the confidence to deploy these systems to production. The company is headquartered in Bangalore. 

About Protect AI

Protect AI empowers organizations to secure their AI applications with comprehensive AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) capabilities, enabling them to see, know, and manage their ML environments effectively. The Protect AI Platform offers end-to-end visibility, remediation, control, and governance, safeguarding AI/ML systems from security threats and risks. Founded by AI leaders from Amazon and Oracle, Protect AI is backed by top investors, including Acrew Capital, boldstart ventures, Evolution Equity Partners, Knollwood Capital, Pelion Ventures, 01 Advisors, StepStone Group, Samsung, and Salesforce Ventures. The company is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Berlin and Bangalore. For more information, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.