CalypsoAI

# CalypsoAI: High-Level Overview

CalypsoAI is an AI security company that builds software products to protect enterprise AI systems from security and compliance risks[1][2]. Founded in 2018, the company initially served government agencies and national security environments before pivoting to the enterprise market in 2023[6]. CalypsoAI's mission is to secure the future of AI by enabling enterprises to innovate confidently with cutting-edge security and compliance solutions[1].

The company addresses a critical gap in AI security by focusing on inference-layer protection—defending how AI behaves at runtime rather than just how it's built or trained[3]. CalypsoAI serves highly regulated industries including finance, technology, and manufacturing, delivering real-time observability, adversarial testing, and autonomous remediation capabilities[3][6]. The company is experiencing exceptional growth, with over 450% year-over-year ARR growth and 70-100% average year-one account expansion[6].

# Origin Story

CalypsoAI was founded in 2018 and spent its early years building AI security solutions for government agencies and the most sensitive national security environments[6]. This foundation in high-stakes, heavily regulated contexts shaped the company's approach—ensuring solutions are battle-tested and enterprise-ready rather than theoretical[4].

The company's leadership team brings deep expertise from scaling major security and technology companies. CEO Donnchadh Casey brings over 20 years of leadership experience from Qualtrics and McKinsey, with a track record in building technology-driven growth[5]. President and CTO James White, CalypsoAI's founding engineer, has nearly 20 years of engineering and data science leadership from Mandiant, FireEye, and Qualtrics[5]. The 2023 pivot to enterprise markets marked a pivotal moment, launching the company onto an accelerated growth trajectory[6].

# Core Differentiators

• First-mover advantage in inference security: CalypsoAI was the first to identify AI security as a market, establish a security perimeter around inference, and use agentic warfare to drive real outcomes[4].

• Battle-tested in extreme environments: The company's decade of experience securing government and national security systems provides unmatched credibility and technical depth that competitors lack[4][6].

• Comprehensive AI-lifecycle platform: Rather than point solutions, CalypsoAI delivers coverage across the full AI lifecycle—from use case selection through development to production[7].

• Elite technical team: The company has assembled one of the most elite AI security teams in the industry, with collectively over 70 years of AI security experience among data scientists, security researchers, and AI engineers[4].

• Real-time runtime protection with sub-100ms latency: The platform delivers 96%+ accuracy with latency under 100 milliseconds, enabling practical deployment in production systems[6].

• Industry recognition: CalypsoAI was selected as an RSA Conference Innovation Sandbox finalist, joining the ranks of category-defining companies like CrowdStrike, Wiz, Palo Alto Networks, Imperva, and Fortinet[3].

# Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

CalypsoAI is riding one of the most urgent trends in enterprise technology: the rapid adoption of AI applications and agents that outpaces security readiness[3]. The global AI in cybersecurity market is projected to reach $93.75 billion by 2030, reflecting surging demand for advanced, AI-driven security solutions[3].

The company's timing is critical because every layer of enterprise technology is being reimagined by AI adoption, necessitating a parallel transformation in cybersecurity solutions[3]. CalypsoAI addresses a fundamental gap that traditional cybersecurity approaches cannot solve—securing AI behavior at runtime, not just securing the code or training process. This positions the company at the intersection of two massive trends: the explosion of generative AI and agentic systems, and the growing regulatory and compliance requirements in highly regulated industries[2][3].

Beyond its commercial impact, CalypsoAI is shaping industry standards through initiatives like the AI Inference Security Project, an industry-first initiative bringing together security leaders and CISOs to define real solutions for securing AI inference[8]. The company addresses 80% of the OWASP Top 10 for Large Language Models, helping establish security benchmarks for the broader ecosystem[7].

# Quick Take & Future Outlook

CalypsoAI is positioned to become a foundational infrastructure company for safe AI adoption. The company's momentum—driven by exceptional ARR growth, strong customer expansion, and leadership team pedigree—suggests it could follow the trajectory of past RSA Innovation Sandbox finalists that became global security leaders[3][6].

The next phase will likely involve expanding beyond inference security into broader cybersecurity applications, deepening presence in critical infrastructure and defense sectors, and scaling globally[3]. As enterprises move from experimenting with AI to deploying mission-critical agentic systems, the demand for CalypsoAI's runtime protection capabilities will intensify. The company's motto—"We Go First, So the World Can Go Forward"—reflects its role as a pathfinder in an emerging security category, creating the secure passage that enterprises need to confidently adopt AI at scale[4].