Businesses across the globe are making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) due to its wide range of practical applications that provide them with a competitive advantage. While some industries are still steps behind this movement, AI has already permeated into various sectors that have revolutionized obsolete practices and outdated models.
The Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) sector is one of the newest targets of AI’s global domination. By integrating AI into security systems, companies can leverage its capabilities to identify potential threats, detect anomalies, and respond to security breaches more effectively. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, enabling organizations to proactively address security risks and prevent potential attacks.
At the forefront of this movement is Vendict, an Israel-based tech startup that has recently emerged from stealth with $9.5 million in funding led by NFX, Disruptive AI, and Cardumen Capital. Founded by experienced professionals in the corporate hi-tech sector, Udi Cohen as CEO and Michael Keslassy as CTO, this company strives to become a catalyst in the GRC domain. Their primary objective is to assist technology vendors in meeting security requirements while also simplifying the process of adopting new technologies.
Traditionally, security questionnaires are done manually. However, Vendict revolutionizes the process by utilizing Generative AI to automate responses to these questionnaires. This innovative approach not only saves countless working hours every month but also streamlines the sales process, giving businesses a significant edge over their competitors.
Udi explained: “Filling out a security questionnaire is one of the least preferred activities of any CISO, GRC specialist, or sales engineer I’ve ever spoken with. By using the GRC-specific generative language model, this is the first time that this pain is truly solved. As the CEO, I’m getting to see the astonished faces of our customers when they realize that they will not need to manually respond to questionnaires anymore. This is satisfying in a way that I can’t explain. But still, this is just an intermediate step. The technology we are now developing will eliminate the need to send questionnaires altogether. Vendict will generate security assessment reports to the buyers, based on the sellers’ documents, and the criticality of the vendor.”
The World’s First AI System that Masters Security Language
Udi and Michael were quick to identify the gaps in the industry that needed attention. They observed that existing solutions primarily focused on optimizing workflows, but ultimately relied on human experts to handle the essential tasks. Consequently, organizations allocated only a small portion of their security compliance budget to tools. This is precisely where Vendict stepped in. By developing the world’s first AI system that masters security language, they empowered security and GRC teams to mitigate risks, save time, gain a competitive edge, and expedite sales cycles. Vendict’s solution combined the expertise of the security and vendor assessment field with the innovative capabilities of AI.
In essence, Vendict provided the missing AI security expert that was lacking in existing solutions. By comprehending the meaning of text, they drastically reduced the duration of security assessments from weeks to hours. Moreover, with each interaction, the AI model became smarter, leading to further time savings. Being ahead of their time, Michael and Udi recognized the potential of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Generative AI as pivotal technologies to revolutionize security questionnaires. Even before these technological breakthroughs emerged over the past year, the Vendict team already understood the integral role of the NLP/AI combination in automating various compliance tasks.
“We recognized that Vendict effectively addresses a genuine issue related to establishing trust among buyers, sellers, and regulators. Their solution innovatively combines their unique AI technology with precise utilization of generative AI techniques,” said Gadi Tirosh, Venture Partner at DisruptiveAI.
Gigi Levy Weiss, General Partner at NFX, concluded: “By building the world’s first security language AI model, Verdict helps their customers reduce risks, save time, and accelerate sales cycles. Udi and Michael have the perfect experience to deliver on this vision and streamline how security compliance is done.”
