Sola Emerges from Stealth with $30M to Revolutionize Cybersecurity Using AI and No-Code Tools

Sola emerges from stealth with $30M to build the 'Stripe for security' | TechCrunch

Enterprises these days can choose from hundreds of apps and services available to secure their networks, data and assets -- nearly as many more to help them manage all the alerts and extra work that those security apps generate. But what if you could build your own apps, customised to your own workloads, to simplify the whole game? That is the premise of a new Israeli startup called Sola, which has built a low/no-code platform to let users design their own cybersecurity apps tailored to their specific needs, including tools to manage apps they might already be using. Sola is emerging from stealth today armed with seed funding of $30 million to hit the ground running with the stated aim to "democratize" how security can be approached and handled. "We're not trying to be like another next-generation CPSM, or ASPM," said co-founder Guy Flechter, referring to posture management tools -- "or any other acronym that you can think of. We want to change the way you think about security. Like Stripe did with payments or Canva did with design." S Capital (the firm founded by the team that started Sequoia Israel) and and former long-time Sequoia VC Mike Moritz are co-leading the round, withS32, Glilot Capital Partners, and unnamed angel investors participating. (Sola has been around for about a year, and some of the details of this round leaked out while it was still in the works and the company had yet to unveil any details about its product.) Sola is the brainchild of two longtime players in the world of cybersecurity whose experience effectively bookends the challenge. Flechter is a builder who previously co-founded and led Cider Security, a specialist in application security that was acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $300 million in 2022. His co-founder Ron Peled was the classic end user: he had previously been the chief infosec officer for AI commerce company LivePerson and worked as an advisor to a number of other companies. As Flechter describes it, these days there are basically two options for solving security challenges these days. Option one is to buy a very robust, commercial solution, typically for a price tag that be in the six figures. "It's a very complex solution, and at the end of the day you will probably not use everything you've paid for," he said. Option two is building solutions yourself using open source components. "You need a very high level of technical expertise to bring that together," he said. Sola's approach is effectively a swing at creating a new option three. Tapping into the latest innovations using AI and big data management, the platform is designed for organizations that might not have large security teams and to be used by those without extensive technical skills. Sola's interface that lets users set goals or ask questions in natural language, and then pull in data from different sources, identify what it is aiming to track, to create a new "app" that works with that company's specific assets. Sola can be used to query data within existing security apps that are being used, Flechter said, but it also has security tooling built into it to replace certain functionality. Sola has "ready made" apps as well for those who do not want put together apps of their own. The aim is to create more streamlined security services for organizations, that in theory will do exactly what they want, and for a fraction of the price. Apps currently in the app gallery give you an idea of what kinds of functionality Sola envisions it can handle. An AWS Network Security app, for example, lets the user "Get a high-level summary of key AWS network security metrics, including potential vulnerabilities." The kinds of questions it can help answer, it says, include "Which security groups have overly permissive rules?" "Which network protocols are enabled across my environment?" "Are there any unprotected open ports that could expose critical services?" And "What's the status of my VPC flow logs?" There are dozens more apps pre-written to cover other cloud environments, developer environments like GitHub, and major security tools such as Okta and Wiz. Moritz, notably, is making his first investment here in a security startup in his capacity as a solo investor. He said that what stood out for him was how the Sola team was leaning into the bigger trend of building simplified front ends with more complicated work being done behind the scenes in the back end, while tapping into technological innovations to make that possible. That is a pattern that has been seen previously in areas like payments with Stripe, design with Canva and many other now-giant tech companies. But his words are a reminder too that all this is still a work in progress. "It's clear that Sola is going to take advantage of all the advances that are that are occurring at breath-taking speed in the evolution of AI. That is very evident in its product," he said in an interview. "If you look at the interface today of Sola compared to where it was even 18 months ago, it's advanced massively thanks to the improvements and breakthroughs that have been announced and unveiled in those last 18 months."

Sola Raises $30 Million for 'Self-Serve' Cybersecurity Solution | PYMNTS.com

Sola Security has raised $30 million for its no-code, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cybersecurity platform. The seed funding, announced Tuesday (March 11) as the company emerged from stealth, will allow Sola to develop its solution, which it says lets businesses build security apps without needing "deep technical expertise" or having to spend too much. Guy Fletcher, Sola's co-founder and CEO, said the Israeli company views itself as part of a "self-serve revolution" embodied by companies like Stripe and Canva. "Security tools today are either too narrow to solve real problems or too bloated to be usable, and we knew there had to be a better way," Fletcher said in a news release. "Sola Security lets any team create and customize security solutions instantly, without the overhead, without the engineering burden, and without the ridiculous price tag." In other cybersecurity news, PYMNTS wrote late last month about the use of digital identity to offer seamless access to systems while reducing risks. "For example, digital identity solutions can move beyond passwords, incorporating multifactor authentication, biometric data and behavior-based verification," that report said. "Decentralized identity frameworks help ensure that only the right individuals or systems gain access to specific resources, something that can be crucial in preventing unauthorized access." The prime concept behind decentralized identity is that by doing away with centralized identity repositories, businesses can help mitigate the risk of large-scale data breaches. While Big Tech has the resources to develop advanced cybersecurity solutions, B2B firms can tinker with and adopt many of these strategies without going overbudget. Microsoft, Google and others use a "Zero Trust" model, in which every access request is viewed as potentially hostile until verified. B2B firms can employ this approach by employing continuous authentication and authorization protocols within their systems. "In the same way that I trust physical keys to the physical lock on my home, I trust digital keys for my digital life," Adam Lowe, chief product and innovation officer at Arculus/CompoSecure, told PYMNTS recently. B2B companies can also focus on robust identity and access management (IAM) practices, making sure digital identities are authenticated and authorized across all systems.

Sola Security launches with $30M to simplify cybersecurity with AI and no-code tools - SiliconANGLE

Sola Security launches with $30M to simplify cybersecurity with AI and no-code tools Self-service cybersecurity startup Sola Security Inc. launched today with an announcement that it had raised $30 million in funding to develop its artificial intelligence-powered, no-code cybersecurity platform, expand its product offerings and accelerate market adoption. Founded last year by cybersecurity veterans Guy Fletcher, the former chief executive officer and co-founder of Cider Ltd., which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks Inc. in 2022 for around $195 million and Ron Peled, the former global chief information security officer of LivePerson Inc., Sola is aiming to redefine how organizations build and deploy security tools by eliminating complexity, cutting costs and putting power back into the hands of security professionals at every level. The company's platform seeks to address the growing complexity and cost of cybersecurity by enabling organizations to build and deploy security solutions without the need for extensive technical expertise. Sola argues that businesses today manage up to 50 separate security tools, each with its own interface, costs and maintenance requirements, creating inefficiencies, security gaps and budget strains. Smaller teams and solo security professionals face even greater challenges, often lacking the resources to maintain an effective security stack. Sola aims to eliminate these barriers by offering a streamlined, AI-powered platform that simplifies security management. Sola allows businesses to create functional security applications from start to finish without requiring dedicated engineering teams or large budgets. Users can either deploy pre-built security tools from the Sola App Gallery or customize their own solutions to fit specific needs. "We see ourselves as part of the self-serve revolution created by giants such as Canva, Stripe and Figma, who changed the way we work in their domains," said CEO Fletcher. "Security tools today are either too narrow to solve real problems or too bloated to be usable and we knew there had to be a better way." "Sola Security lets any team create and customize security solutions instantly, without the overhead, without the engineering burden, and without the ridiculous price tag," added Fletcher. S Capital LP and veteran venture capitalist Mike Moritz led the seed round, with S32 LP, Glilot Capital Partners LP and several unnamed angel investors also participating.