From Cybersecurity Titans to AI Governance Pioneers
The founders behind Nord Security, creators of the globally recognized NordVPN, have turned their attention to what they see as the next major corporate vulnerability: unsecured AI adoption. Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, having built a $3 billion cybersecurity company, are now tackling the AI governance gap with their new venture Nexos.ai, which just secured €30 million in Series A funding mere months after its initial $8 million seed round.
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Table of Contents
- From Cybersecurity Titans to AI Governance Pioneers
- The “Switzerland for LLMs” Approach
- Investor Confidence in Seasoned Founders
- Beyond Funding: The “Legends” Network Advantage
- Technical Architecture: Workspace and Gateway
- Market Strategy: From Tech-Savvy to Regulated Industries
- Proven Impact Within Portfolio Companies
- Expansion and Future Vision
The “Switzerland for LLMs” Approach
Okmanas describes the current situation as “the biggest corporate data leak in the making,” as employees increasingly feed sensitive information into large language models without proper safeguards. Rather than advocating for AI bans that would stifle productivity, Nexos.ai positions itself as a neutral intermediary – what Okmanas calls a “Switzerland for LLMs.” The platform sits between employees and AI systems, maintaining data control while enabling the productivity gains that attract companies to AI in the first place., as related article
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“The fear isn’t about AI’s capabilities, but about losing control of corporate data,” Okmanas explained. “We’re solving the adoption barrier by making security and productivity complementary rather than competing priorities.”
Investor Confidence in Seasoned Founders
The rapid funding round, co-led by Index Ventures and Evantic Capital at a €300 million valuation, demonstrates investor confidence in the founders’ track record. Notably, Evantic – the new venture firm from former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Miller – pursued the investment despite Nexos.ai not actively fundraising. Previous investors Creandum and Dig Ventures participated alongside angel backers including the CEOs of Datadog, Klarna, Supercell, and Wix., according to technology trends
What makes this funding particularly significant is the founders’ historical preference for bootstrapping. Having built Nord Security without venture capital, their embrace of VC funding signals both the scale of the opportunity and the value they see in strategic partnerships., according to industry experts
Beyond Funding: The “Legends” Network Advantage
The investment brings more than capital. Okmanas highlighted the value of Evantic’s “Legends” network – 140 operators who advise portfolio companies in exchange for a share of fund profits. Interestingly, Okmanas himself serves as both a portfolio founder and a Legend, creating a unique feedback loop where he simultaneously contributes to and benefits from the network’s collective expertise.
“This isn’t just about money; it’s about accessing decades of combined experience in scaling technology companies,” Okmanas noted.
Technical Architecture: Workspace and Gateway
Nexos.ai’s platform consists of two main components:
- AI Workspace: An intuitive interface for employees to interact with AI tools
- AI Gateway: A developer-focused control layer handling security, cost management, and compliance
The gateway currently provides access to approximately 200 AI models while reducing the fragmentation that Okmanas identifies as a major adoption barrier. The funding will accelerate support for private models, particularly important for handling sensitive data that cannot be exposed to third-party AI systems.
Market Strategy: From Tech-Savvy to Regulated Industries
While conducting 50-60 demo calls weekly, the company is strategically focusing on two initial market segments:
- Technology companies already using AI daily
- Regulated industries concerned about governance and data sovereignty
The European focus plays to Nexos.ai’s advantage, as data sovereignty concerns are particularly acute in EU markets. This has already opened doors with public institutions, potentially creating a new market beyond their enterprise focus.
Proven Impact Within Portfolio Companies
The founders identified the AI governance opportunity while overseeing their venture building and investment company, Tesonet. Tesonet portfolio companies serve as both inspiration and early customers. At Hostinger, a web hosting provider in their portfolio, an AI assistant implementation reduced the need for human support, saving €10 million this year alone and eliminating the need to hire 500 additional staff.
“The question isn’t whether AI delivers value, but how to harness it safely,” Okmanas emphasized. “The results speak for themselves when implementation is done right.”
Expansion and Future Vision
The funding will fuel expansion across Europe and North America, with plans to grow the team to 100 people by the company’s first anniversary. While Okmanas declined to disclose current revenue figures, the company’s rapid growth and substantial valuation suggest strong market confidence in their approach to solving one of enterprise technology’s most pressing challenges.
As businesses worldwide grapple with balancing AI innovation against security concerns, Nexos.ai represents a compelling solution from founders who have already navigated the journey from startup to billion-dollar company in the cybersecurity space. Their unique position at the intersection of security expertise and AI governance may well define the next chapter of enterprise AI adoption.
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References & Further Reading
This article draws from multiple authoritative sources. For more information, please consult:
- http://nexos.ai
- https://www.sorainen.com/deals/nord-security-attracts-usd-100-million-investment/
- https://www.hostinger.com/
This article aggregates information from publicly available sources. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
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