KPMG spins out new AI security company

Big Four firm KPMG said that its incubator, KPMG Studios, has successfully spun off its very first startup: an AI security firm called Cranium, which was developed in collaboration with AI security experts in the firm's advisory practice.

"While generative AI has taken headlines by storm in recent months, AI and AI security have long been a focus for KPMG, and with advancements in AI and cyber-attacks increasing, our KPMG Studio team identified a real market need for Cranium," said Cliff Justice, KPMG's U.S. national leader of enterprise innovation, in a statement. "Cranium is KPMG Studios' inaugural spinout and exemplifies the firm's commitment to cultivating innovative solutions that solve complex client challenges."  

While many have been using AI in security, Cranium's focus is on the security of the AI itself. To keep data and systems secure, the company provides an end-to-end AI security and trust platform that operates by mapping the AI pipelines, validating security, and monitoring for adversarial threats. The technology integrates with existing environments without interrupting the way organizations work to test, train and deploy their AI models. In addition, experts developed a playbook that security teams can use alongside the software to protect their AI systems and adhere to existing U.S. and EU regulatory standards.

"Awareness and adoption of AI solutions across the enterprise is at a fever pitch, with generative AI models showcasing the 'magic' of AI to the general public. In tandem with this acceleration, major regulatory bodies are moving swiftly to set guidelines for organizations deploying AI systems," said Jonathan Dambrot, the former KPMG partner who is the founder and CEO of Cranium, in a statement. "The inherent nature of AI models learning from new inputs creates a unique set of attack methods that require novel security techniques to account for these threats. Cranium brings visibility, trust, and a new level of security to cybersecurity and data science teams when it comes to the entire AI ecosystem of any organization."

Tannen Maury/Bloomberg

Both KPMG and premier cybersecurity investor SYN Ventures provided seed funding and have taken minority stakes in Cranium, enabling the team to develop a future roadmap to support and drive value for customers.  

"Cranium is emerging into the cybersecurity market at exactly the right time," said Jay Leek, managing partner at SYN Ventures, in a statement. "As enterprises adopt and deploy AI models, the use of sensitive data and the strategic value of these models to a business requires that enterprise grade security tools be used in tandem. The company's innovative platform is positioned to instill trust in AI and secure AI use across all industries."