Companies of all shapes and sizes need to secure their infrastructure. But it’s not always clear what type of cybersecurity software can meet their needs. And it’s difficult to navigate marketing and sales tactics used by security services.
Cypher wants to help.
The new Seattle startup aims to democratize information about cybersecurity products while connecting buyers and sellers through its platform.
“The root of the problem is that what gets discovered is what gets marketed really well,” said Cypher co-founder and CEO Vinay Narayan.
Narayan said there are cheaper tools that provide adequate security protections — but they are harder to find.
Cypher also wants to help buyers who may not have big marketing budgets and can’t “pay to play” as effectively.
“We’re going to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots,” Narayan said.
Cypher’s software uses generative AI to understand a company’s cybersecurity needs. Its recommendation algorithm then offers a list of providers who can help.
The company, which is bootstrapped, generates revenue by charging buyers premium subscription offerings, including the ability to get more data points about sellers. And it makes money from sellers who use Cypher to find customers.
Narayan, who moved to Seattle from Silicon Valley three years ago, was previously a business strategy leader for the Oculus and Portal teams at Facebook. He also spent three years at Google.
Cypher co-founder and CTO Sachin Goyal was previously vice president of engineering for Multiverse, and was director of engineering at FanDuel.
