Startup Spotlight: Darktrace’s AI security immune system

Cybersecurity startup Darktrace bases its offering on the immune system, with autonomous response technology responding to threats at inhuman speeds.

The Cambridge and San Francisco-based company was founded in 2013 by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge and cyber security specialists. The company’s premier offering, the Enterprise Immune System brings AI to cybersecurity, and allows for rapid  response to incoming threats.

Industry solutions offered stretch from financial services to manufacturing to healthcare to transportation and the media. Customers include the likes of Ebay, Ocado, Peugeot, T-Mobile and BT, as well as motor racing team McLaren.

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The latter was recently announced to have appointed Darktrace as its “AI Cyber Security Partner” in the pursuit of protecting the team from cyber attacks. With a multitude of endpoints such as the IoT sensors on cars and cloud-based operational software, McLaren plan to use the AI-enabled immune response to be able to respond at a speed beyond human capabilities.

In a press release, Poppy Gustafsson, CEO, Darktrace, said: “We are excited to be partnering with McLaren, a company with innovation at its core. Cyber-attacks that seek to cause disruption to global events, as well as attacks that subtly steal coveted IP, are on the rise. We are proud that our technology is being trusted to automatically protect the McLaren team, enabling them to race to the finish line in the knowledge that their systems are secured by world-leading Cyber AI.”

The company has raised a total of $230.5mn from a number of funding rounds, with the latest being a $50mn Series E round led by British equity firm Vitruvian Partners. In 2019, Darktrace was named the “Artificial Intelligence Business of the Year” at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards 2019.