Neo just stepped out of stealth mode with $100 million in funding and a singular mission: lock down enterprise AI software before the bad actors figure out how to exploit it. The Boston-headquartered startup is entering a cybersecurity landscape that’s increasingly defined by one question: who secures the AI that’s supposed to secure everything else?

The crypto and digital asset angle

Neo has built its reputation partly on work within the digital currency space. The company has expanded its client base to include over 150 companies in the crypto sector, and it has partnered with leading cryptocurrency exchanges to help safeguard assets worth over $75 billion.

The startup has also thwarted over 1,500 potential cyber-attacks since its founding in 2021, preventing what it estimates to be roughly $3 million in client losses.

Neo has reported a 300% year-on-year increase in customer acquisition. The company’s technology has been integrated into mainstream wallets, enhancing security for 10 million transactions monthly, and monthly active users have increased by 150% in the last year.

What this means for investors and the broader market

Neo has also indicated plans to launch a proprietary security token in Q1 2024, a move that would directly bridge its enterprise cybersecurity business with blockchain-native incentive structures. The company also conducted a successful security audit for a major DeFi platform in September 2023.

For context, the cryptocurrency space witnessed losses exceeding $1.8 billion due to cyber incidents in 2020 alone, underscoring the demand for the kind of robust security measures Neo is building.