Ameesh Divatia is the co-founder & CEO of Baffle, an organization centered on integrating information safety into each side of the info pipeline to simplify cloud information safety and reduce the impression of information breaches.
Its platform provides a no-code, easy-to-deploy answer that secures delicate information with out affecting efficiency or requiring adjustments to functions. Baffle’s know-how is appropriate with main cloud suppliers comparable to AWS, Azure, IBM, and GCP. Serving a variety of shoppers, from Fortune 25 corporations to small and medium companies, Baffle protects over 100 billion data worldwide, working with system integrators for environment friendly deployment.
What motivated you to co-found Baffle, Inc., and the way did your earlier entrepreneurial experiences form your method within the early levels of the corporate?
After my final firm’s exit, I took a much-needed break to recharge and take into consideration what I actually wished to do subsequent. I’ve at all times cherished constructing corporations, so I began having conversations with an early-stage VC buddy of mine, and he launched me to Priyadarshan “PD” Kolte, who would change into my co-founder. He challenged us with an intriguing query, disguised as a problem: “How do you get value from data while still protecting it?” That problem hooked me—fixing robust issues is what I stay for. There was a obvious hole in information safety, particularly round simplifying encryption and defending information ‘in use’. 9 years later, right here we’re, answering that query with Baffle.
With the rise of generative AI, how can corporations be sure that their information stays safe whereas nonetheless leveraging the advantages of AI applied sciences?
It is a query each firm dabbling in AI ought to be asking. Safety and innovation typically really feel like two opposing forces, however they don’t need to be. The secret is a breakthrough innovation known as Privateness Enhanced Computation (PEC) that begins with encryption—conserving information protected at relaxation, in transit, and whereas in use. By encrypting delicate information earlier than it will get to the AI fashions first after which utilizing PEC to course of it, you may nonetheless get the insights you want with out compromising safety. It’s about staying forward of the sport, updating safety protocols, and leveraging instruments like Baffle to mitigate dangers. You don’t need to sacrifice innovation for safety.
Are you able to clarify the particular position of encryption in defending AI-generated information and fashions? How does it differ from conventional information safety strategies?
Encryption for AI information is like wrapping your most beneficial asset in bubble wrap—regardless of how a lot it’s tossed round, it stays protected. Consider it as locking the info when you’re utilizing it. Conventional strategies concentrate on securing information when it’s not in use (at relaxation) or when it is shifting (in transit). However with AI, we’re including a brand new layer of complexity as a result of the info wants to remain encrypted even when it’s being crunched by fashions. Baffle focuses on this “data-in-use” safety, making certain efficiency isn’t impacted however safety isn’t sacrificed.
Baffle not too long ago launched an information safety answer particularly for GenAI tasks. Are you able to share extra particulars about how this answer works and what makes it distinctive available in the market?
Our GenAI answer is all about making encryption easy and environment friendly, even if you’re working with AI. It plugs into an present AI pipeline by defending information as it’s being ingested. That is adopted by a functionality often called real-queryable encryption that processes the info with out exposing it. Most significantly, you don’t want to vary something in your AI pipeline—no rewriting code, no trouble. Simply plug it in and go. We’ve centered on ease of use and ensuring safety doesn’t get in the way in which of innovation, which is why clients are discovering this answer so engaging.
Your platform emphasizes “no code” adjustments for implementing information safety. How does this method profit corporations, particularly these with massive, complicated information pipelines?
Nobody needs to interrupt one thing that’s already working. With our “no code” method, corporations don’t want to tear aside their present functions or information movers so as to add encryption. It is a enormous profit for big organizations with complicated information pipelines as a result of it means they will bolster safety with out risking disruptions. It’s quicker, simpler, and removes loads of the complications that usually include integrating new tech.
How does Baffle’s Actual Queryable Encryption differ from different encryption strategies, and what benefits does it provide for corporations dealing with large-scale information analytics?
Actual Queryable Encryption is our secret sauce. Not like conventional encryption, which requires you to decrypt information within the information retailer earlier than analyzing it (and thereby exposing it), we allow you to run queries on the encrypted information itself. It’s like having your cake and consuming it too—you get the insights with out risking safety. It is a game-changer, particularly for corporations coping with enormous quantities of delicate information, like in finance or healthcare, the place compliance is non-negotiable.
Information-in-use safety is a crucial characteristic of Baffle’s platform. Are you able to clarify how this works and why it’s important for corporations, notably within the context of GDPR and different information privateness laws?
When information is in use—being processed by techniques—it’s often at its most susceptible. That’s why defending it in real-time is crucial, particularly with laws like GDPR, which require a posture often called ‘data protection by design’. Our platform ensures that even when information is being processed, it is nonetheless encrypted. This method eliminates that dangerous window of publicity the place information breaches typically occur, serving to corporations keep compliant and protected.
As AI fashions change into extra complicated, what are the primary challenges in securing these fashions towards adversarial assaults, and the way does Baffle deal with these challenges?
AI fashions are getting smarter, however so are attackers. Adversarial assaults—the place dangerous actors attempt to manipulate the info that impacts an AI mannequin’s output—are a rising concern. We deal with this by specializing in the info facet. By encrypting the info that the AI fashions depend on, we make it a lot more durable for anybody to mess with the mannequin’s integrity. It’s like giving the AI mannequin a locked vault of information—nobody’s getting in with out the important thing.
Are you able to focus on the significance of role-based entry management (RBAC) in fashionable information safety methods, particularly for organizations utilizing multi-tenant cloud environments?
In multi-tenant cloud environments, RBAC is a must have. Think about you’ve obtained a bunch of individuals all sharing the identical cloud infrastructure. With out RBAC, it’s like giving everybody entry to the entire constructing as a substitute of simply their workplace. Our platform integrates RBAC so solely licensed folks primarily based on their particular person position or credential, can entry delicate information, conserving issues locked down tight and lowering the danger of breaches.
Baffle has seen important development lately, along with your revenues doubling prior to now 12 months. What do you attribute this development to, and the way do you intend to proceed this trajectory?
We’re driving a wave of demand as a result of we’ve constructed the appropriate answer for the appropriate downside. Our development comes down to 1 factor: we’re fixing an issue that each firm faces—information safety. With cyber threats on the rise and laws getting more durable, corporations are turning to us for options that work with out slowing them down. Our concentrate on real-queryable encryption and ease of use is an enormous motive for that development. Shifting ahead, we’re planning to maintain pushing the envelope on innovation, increasing our merchandise, and constructing robust partnerships that take us into new markets.
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to Baffle.
