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Protect AI announced on August 1, 2024, that it had closed a $60 million Series B funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners. Bloomberg reported a $400 million pre-money valuation, or $460 million post-money after adding the new capital. The company said it would use the proceeds to expand its AI security platform, research and development, customer and sales support, and channel programs.
Who invested in Protect AI’s Series B?
Evolution Equity Partners led the round. Protect AI’s announcement listed 01 Advisors, StepStone Group, and Samsung Venture Investment as participants, alongside existing investors Acrew Capital, boldstart ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Pelion Venture Partners, and Salesforce Ventures. SecurityWeek reported the announcement.
What was the reported valuation?
Bloomberg reported a $400 million pre-money valuation. Adding the $60 million raised gives a reported post-money valuation of $460 million. Pre-money refers to the company’s valuation before the new investment; post-money includes that investment. These figures were reported by Bloomberg, rather than included in the brief company announcement excerpt. Bloomberg’s report is the source for both valuation figures.
How much had Protect AI raised in total?
SecurityWeek reported that the Series B brought Protect AI’s total funding to $108.5 million. That is the cumulative amount reported at the time of the August 2024 announcement, not a statement about the company’s funding total today. SecurityWeek also reported that the company’s team had grown 300% year over year and that Protect AI planned 50 hires by the end of 2024. Those were contemporaneous figures and plans, not evidence that the hires subsequently occurred.
#1 Best Overall
![Arduino® UNO™ Q 4GB [ABX00173]- Hybrid Board, Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 microprocessor (MPU) & STM32U585 Microcontroller(MCU), AI Vision, Voice, IoT, Robotics, Linux Debian OS, Wi-Fi 5, USB-C](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cl4xygwGL._SL160_.jpg)
- Dual-Brain Hybrid Power: Combines the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 MPU (Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz CPU, Adreno GPU, AI acceleration) and the real-time, low-power STM32U585 MCU for advanced applications like object recognition, voice commands, and motion detection.
- AI & Linux Capabilities: Unlocks AI-powered vision and sound solutions; runs Linux Debian OS for coding in Python and supports the Arduino ecosystem with libraries and Sketches; quick start with Arduino App Lab.
- Advanced Features: Equipped with 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM, 32 GB eMMC built-in storage, ideal for single-board computer (SBC) mode, running multiple simultaneous high-level processes, more complex AI or ML models, extensive logs. Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, and high-speed headers for vision, audio, and display peripherals.
- Seamless Expansion & Connectivity: Features the classic UNO form factor for shields compatibility, an 8x13 LED matrix, and a Qwiic connector for easy expansion with Modulino nodes; power and connect via the USB-C connector.
- Intended Use & Development: The perfect platform for prototyping robotics or IoT projects, empowering innovators with a unified development experience to mix Arduino Sketches, Python scripts, and containerized AI models in a single interface.
What did Protect AI say it would do with the money?
Protect AI said the funding would support expanded platform capabilities, research and development, customer success and sales, and channel programs. These were announced intentions; they do not establish how the funds were ultimately spent. The company’s announcement described the plans.
What did Protect AI’s platform do?
In its 2024 announcement, Protect AI described its offering as AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM), with capabilities for scanning models for threats, producing AI/ML bills of materials, providing threat feeds, and securing, observing, and governing large language models. These are the company’s descriptions of its product at the time, not an independent assessment of its performance or current availability.
Rank #2
- Dual-Brain Hybrid Power: Combines the Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 MPU (Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz CPU, Adreno GPU, AI acceleration) and the real-time, low-power STM32U585 MCU for advanced applications like object recognition, voice commands, and motion detection.
- AI & Linux Capabilities: Unlocks AI-powered vision and sound solutions; runs Linux Debian OS for coding in Python and supports the Arduino ecosystem with libraries and Sketches; quick start with Arduino App Lab.
- Advanced Features: Equipped with 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM, 16 GB eMMC built-in storage, ideal to develop in PC-connected mode, running the OS, Python scripts, and basic network services (SSH) without a demanding GUI or heavy multitasking; great for lightweight AI and memory-optimized TinyML applications, needing local storage for basic OS and core libraries. Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, and high-speed headers for vision, audio, and display peripherals.
- Seamless Expansion & Connectivity: Features the classic UNO form factor for shields compatibility, an 8x13 LED matrix, and a Qwiic connector for easy expansion with Modulino nodes; power and connect via the USB-C connector.
- Intended Use & Development: The perfect platform for prototyping robotics or IoT projects, empowering innovators with a unified development experience to mix Arduino Sketches, Python scripts, and containerized AI models in a single interface.
SecurityWeek reproduced CEO and co-founder Ian Swanson’s statement that the investment would help extend the company’s AI security capabilities and serve customers globally. Evolution Equity Partners founder and managing partner Richard Seewald described Protect AI as a leading AI security platform. Both are attributed statements from people associated with the company or its investor, not independent evaluations. SecurityWeek’s coverage includes Swanson’s statement, and Protect AI’s announcement includes Seewald’s.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the funding announcement does—and does not—show
The round documents investor backing and the company’s stated plans to expand its AI security business. Funding, valuation, hiring plans, and product descriptions do not by themselves establish product effectiveness, later business results, or the company’s present ownership and availability. GeekWire described Protect AI at the time as a Seattle cybersecurity startup and reported that its customers included national security organizations and Fortune 500 companies; those are attributed descriptions, not claims about every customer. GeekWire’s report provides that context.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- 【POWERFUL ESP32‑S3 CONTROLLER】Built‑in Xtensa 32‑bit LX7 dual‑core processor, 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM, 16MB Flash for stable AI voice computing and multitask processing.
- 【Preloaded Dual AI Platforms】Comespre-installed with complete Deepseek and OpenAI voice dialogue projects.Experience intelligent voice interaction instantly. (Note: OpenAI functionality requires your own API key.)
- 【STABLE WIRELESS & CLEAR AUDIO】Integrated 2.4GHz Wi‑Fi + Bluetooth 5 (LE); dedicated audio decoding module for natural, responsive voice interaction.
- 【USER‑FRIENDLY VISUAL & PLUG‑AND‑PLAY】2” TFT‑SPI color screen shows real‑time chat; modular design, no extra wiring, ready to use after setup.
- 【FULL LEARNING SUPPORT】45 programmable GPIOs, rich interfaces, online web tutorials, free technical support for beginners & developers.
Rank #3
- Single core ARM Cortex-A7 32-bit core, integrated with NEON and FPU
- Built in Micro's self-developed 4th generation NPU, with high computational accuracy and support for mixed quantization of int4, int8, and int16. Among them, int8 has a computing power of 0.5 TOPS and int4 has a computing power of up to 1.0 TOPS
- Built in self-developed 3rd generation ISP3.2, supports 4 million pixels, and supports various image enhancement and correction algorithms such as HDR, WDR, and multi-level denoisin
- It has powerful encoding performance, supports intelligent encoding, adapts to save bit rates according to the scene, and saves more than 50% of the bit rate compared to conventional CBR mode, making the captured images high-definition, smaller in size, and doubling the storage space
- The design with built-in RISC-V MCU supports low-power fast startup, 250ms fast capture, and simultaneous loading of AI model library, enabling facial recognition to be completed within 1 second
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