Startup Sentra Secures $50 Million to Enhance AI-Driven Data Protection

A New York-based startup, Sentra, founded by a former Israeli Military Intelligence officer, has successfully raised $50 million in Series B funding aimed at enhancing enterprise data security and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This funding underscores the increasing necessity for organizations to protect their sensitive information amidst growing threats and stringent regulatory demands.

Co-founder and CEO Yoav Regev articulated that the proceeds from this funding round aim to bolster capabilities in enforcement, introduce native remediation options, and enhance data sensitivity labels to facilitate access management across AI platforms, including Microsoft Copilot. Sentra’s platform is designed to provide comprehensive safeguards for both structured and unstructured data across diverse environments, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and on-premises solutions.

Regev emphasized the criticality of swift execution in enhancing their product offerings, stating that the capital acquired will enable them to rapidly expand their operational footprint and meet customer needs more efficiently. The strategic direction is focused on maintaining high levels of classification accuracy and interconnectivity between various remediation and enforcement mechanisms, vital for effective data security.

Sentra’s corporate journey began in 2021, and the company has amassed a total of $103 million from three funding rounds, with its most recent effort seeing Standard Investments play a pivotal role. The firm has expanded to 131 employees, a testament to its growth trajectory under Regev’s leadership, whose extensive background includes nearly 24 years in Israel’s cyber security sector.

In an era where data breaches are rampant, and regulatory pressures are intensifying, enterprises are increasingly eager to harness their data. This pivot towards monetizing data is often hindered by the inadequate visibility related to data assets, which is something Regev aims to resolve through Sentra’s advanced classification capabilities.

Utilizing a combination of AI and large language models (LLMs), Sentra promises over 95% classification accuracy across various data types without extracting data from customer environments, a feat Regev notes is distinctive in the industry. The complexity of evolving cyber threats necessitates constant adaptation of classification engines to accommodate new data types and emerging AI governance needs.

As businesses strive for comprehensive coverage of their data, Sentra plans to balance its development efforts between cloud platforms and on-premises environments. Regev describes these as distinct technological realms that require tailored solutions, with the end goal being 99% coverage of enterprise data locations.

In addition to empowering data security at multiple levels, Sentra aims to exert control over data entering AI systems, manage access permissions, and enforce policies for tools like AWS Bedrock. This proactive approach mitigates risks associated with unintentional data exposure by embedding context-aware classification and enforcement into the data lifecycle, thereby enhancing overall security.

Regev highlighted the nascent nature of AI-related use cases but indicated a firm commitment to bolstering support across vital services for their customers. Moving forward, Sentra intends to develop autonomous enforcement capabilities, allowing the platform to take intelligent actions such as data masking, encryption, and permission management, ultimately fostering a more resilient security posture.

Sentra envisions a future wherein its platform autonomously identifies and remediates data risks, creating a closed-loop security model. This capability signifies an evolution in data security, where proactive measures can significantly mitigate threats before they escalate.