Nexos.ai secures €30M to accelerate enterprise AI adoption in Europe.
Image Credits:Nexos.ai
Navigating AI Challenges in the Enterprise Sector
For many enterprise companies, artificial intelligence represents either an untapped potential or a significant security concern. The efforts of Lithuania’s renowned entrepreneur duo, Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, aim to bridge this gap and have successfully attracted considerable attention and funding.
Launch and Funding of Nexos.ai
Just months after Nexos.ai emerged from stealth mode with an $8 million funding round led by Index Ventures, the co-founders have secured an additional €30 million (approximately $35 million) in Series A funding. This new platform is designed to facilitate the secure adoption of AI tools within companies by acting as a neutral intermediary between employees and AI systems.
Addressing Corporate Data Leaks
Okmanas has raised alarms about the current risks associated with corporate data leaks, particularly as employees begin to share sensitive information with Large Language Models (LLMs). Instead of advocating for a complete ban on AI use, he envisions Nexos.ai as a “Switzerland for LLMs,” maintaining neutrality while managing the interface between teams and AI tools. The aim is to enable companies to maintain control over their data while still reaping the productivity benefits associated with AI.
Fundraising Success and Valuation
The combination of experienced founders addressing a significant enterprise challenge has accelerated the funding round for Nexos.ai, with a valuation of €300 million (approximately $350 million). Index Ventures and Evantic Capital co-led the funding, alongside participation from previous investors such as Creandum and Dig Ventures. Notably, several high-profile angel investors from well-known tech companies like Datadog and Klarna also joined the funding effort.
Matt Miller, a former Sequoia Capital partner, spearheaded Evantic, demonstrating a remarkable persistence in facilitating this funding round, even when Nexos.ai was not actively seeking investment. Okmanas and Sabaliauskas are familiar with bootstrapping from their previous venture, Nord, which is valued at $3 billion. However, they now recognize the benefits of venture capital involvement.
Expert Guidance and Product Development
Besides the substantial backing from Index Ventures, Nexos.ai is now leveraging Miller’s expertise and his network of 140 industry professionals, known as the ‘Legends.’ These individuals offer advisory services to Evantic’s portfolio startups in return for a share of the fund’s profits. Okmanas indicated that both he and his team are utilizing the accumulated wisdom from these experts to refine their product.
Currently, Nexos.ai’s offerings include an AI Workspace for employees and an AI Gateway for developers. The Gateway serves as a security layer for managing costs and compliance, while also reducing operational fragmentation—a key barrier to AI adoption. This Gateway provides a unified access point to around 200 AI models, with plans to accelerate the integration of private models that are crucial for securing sensitive data.
Targeting Tech-Savvy Enterprises
Okmanas mentioned that Nexos.ai is conducting 50 to 60 demo calls weekly. He also anticipates that traditional businesses will face challenges in convincing their boards about the efficacy of AI adoption. While Nexos.ai aims to simplify these deployment processes, its initial focus will be on tech-savvy companies already incorporating AI solutions.
The startup is also reaching out to companies in regulated sectors, which often have stringent governance and data handling protocols. Okmanas and Sabaliauskas initially identified the gap in AI governance while managing the portfolio of their former company, Tesonet, which builds and invests in startups. Some Tesonet companies are already clients of Nexos.ai, alongside end-users like the Bulgarian fintech unicorn, Payhawk, which also operates in Vilnius.
The Mission of Nexos.ai: Accelerating AI Adoption
For Okmanas, the overarching goal is to dismantle barriers that hinder the widespread adoption of AI. He highlights the success experienced within Tesonet’s portfolio, particularly at Hostinger, a web hosting service where AI solutions significantly reduced the reliance on human support. This efficiency resulted in the company not needing to hire an additional 500 staff, leading to a remarkable saving of €10 million within the year.
Future Outlook and Growth Plans
While numbers from Hostinger provide suggestive metrics on AI’s value, Okmanas refrained from disclosing specific revenue figures for Nexos.ai. However, he did share that the team aims to grow to around 100 employees by its first anniversary. Much of this workforce expansion will take place in Europe, where concerns about data sovereignty have opened up new opportunities within public institutions, potentially paving the way for market growth beyond the enterprise focus.
In conclusion, Nexos.ai stands to play a pivotal role in alleviating concerns surrounding AI adoption in the enterprise sector without sacrificing productivity or control over corporate data. By acting as a mediator and continually refining their services, Okmanas and Sabaliauskas appear poised to tackle the future challenges and opportunities that AI brings to businesses.
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