We are excited to share our recent Series A investment in Nudge Security, a company looking to redefine cybersecurity for the modern workforce. The company’s mission is to automate the guardrails at the Workforce Edge by guiding employees toward approved applications and AI tools, enhancing the pace of business and minimizing friction.
Why Now?
Employees are increasingly turning to SaaS and AI tools to supercharge their output. At the same time, the way we work has shifted. Employees can be productive from anywhere, making the network edge increasingly amorphous. With the distributed nature of today’s work, and uptick in use of third-party applications, companies face more complexity and less visibility, forcing the cybersecurity market to adapt.
As this landscape has changed, one truth has held constant: humans are still the tip of the spear. That’s why human-centric security tools have never been more critical. Nudge Security’s approach empowers people to be the first line of defense.
Why Nudge Security?
In under an hour, Nudge Security plugs into an enterprise IT ecosystem and builds a live inventory of SaaS and AI application use. Its intuitive UI surfaces insights for security teams – a map of the attack surface, data on employee activity, spend, and risks tied to the use of approved and unapproved apps. It also profiles thousands of vendors for security, risk, and compliance insights, enabling third-party risk management. Nudge Security’s dashboard can give security leaders comprehensive visibility into the SaaS and AI tools used by employees and allow security teams to implement controls to protect organizations and guide employee behavior.
The real differentiator? Nudge Security has the ability to deliver real-time behavioral interventions for employees. If someone tries to use an unapproved AI tool for a task that requires context of sensitive data, automation kicks in – “nudging” users to an approved option without blocking productivity, a win for the employee and the security team.
What’s Next?
Nudge Security has gathered a massive amount of behavioral data such as why users pick a tool and who the early adopters of an app are. From this data, the team is building an automated capability to govern interactions with applications and AI tools. In the future, with its data on employee behavior and organization policy, Nudge Security will look to auto-approve application use for employees and intervene when tools are not allowed.
Who’s Behind Nudge Security?
Nudge Security’s co-founders, Russ Spitler and Jaime Blasco, have worked together for thirteen years. Their journey together began at AlienVault, which was acquired by AT&T – they were excited to partner again to build Nudge Security. What impressed us from our first conversation was how they prioritize product excellence above all else. Their product-centered ethos, combined with a deep understanding of customer needs, is the foundation that will help propel Nudge Security’s future growth.
Final Thoughts
Nudge Security led us to envision a more seamless future state of security, where humans and AI enhance one another. We’re excited to work with Russ and Jaime and be part of the growth journey ahead.
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