Unbound has announced the close of an oversubscribed seed funding round, raising $4 million to support enterprise adoption of generative AI tools while maintaining security and governance controls. Generative AI tools are rapidly transforming the workplace, offering unprecedented capabilities for code generation, content creation, and strategic insights. However, this rapid proliferation has left many enterprises grappling with significant challenges related to security, governance, and cost. Employees are increasingly relying on tools like copilots without adequate oversight, creating a widening gap between adoption and control. This disconnect isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a genuine risk to an organization’s data, finances, and compliance.
The Unseen Risks of Uncontrolled AI Adoption
The quiet integration of generative AI tools by employees often flies under the radar of IT departments. This “shadow AI” usage can lead to critical vulnerabilities. Early observations from the widespread adoption of GPT-3.5, for instance, revealed instances where sensitive data, including passwords, personally identifiable information, and proprietary content, were inadvertently leaked into external AI models. Traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools often fall short in this new paradigm, either resorting to blanket bans that stifle innovation or failing to recognize the nuanced risks embedded in natural language prompts. The dangers of unmanaged AI, from shadow models to data leaks, are very real, threatening the immense projected market value of AI in the enterprise.
Unbound: A New Category of AI Infrastructure
Addressing this critical need, Unbound, a startup founded by veterans from Adobe, Palo Alto Networks, and Imperva, has developed an AI Gateway platform. This innovative solution empowers IT teams to monitor, control, and optimize the use of generative AI tools across their organizations. Unbound’s platform intercepts prompts from various AI tools, scanning for sensitive data, enforcing access policies, and intelligently routing requests to the most appropriate and cost-effective models, including internal and open-source alternatives.
Balancing Innovation with Security and Cost Savings
Unbound offers a crucial middle ground between outright bans and unchecked usage. Instead of completely blocking access, its system redacts sensitive content in real-time and reroutes high-risk prompts to safer, internally hosted models. This approach allows enterprises to maintain productivity and foster innovation while establishing essential guardrails for data privacy and compliance.
The impact is already evident: Unbound’s platform has prevented over 7,000 potential data leaks, safeguarding hundreds of secret credentials and patient records. Furthermore, by intelligently routing AI workloads, the platform has helped customers reduce AI-related costs by up to 70%. As Unbound CEO Rajaram Srinivasan emphasizes, enterprises seek flexibility and control, demanding visibility, data protection, and the ability to adapt as the AI landscape evolves. With ambitious growth plans, including significant investment and hiring in India, Unbound is poised to shape the future of secure and cost-efficient AI adoption in the enterprise.
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