Have you ever thought you’d finished a project just to realize you’re missing a crucial puzzle piece? It can be a seriously frustrating experience. In some cases, it can even be a dangerous one. For this reason, oak9 developed a platform that provides developers with comprehensive security throughout their entire software development lifecycle.
“Our oak9 platform is focused on helping developers secure their infrastructure as a code,” Raj Datta, oak9’s CEO, told Built In. “Essentially our focused goal is to bridge the divide between security and developer organizations and to ensure that all of the applications they create in the cloud [are] secure.”
The company just pulled in $5.9 million in a seed funding round led by Menlo Ventures. Backed by the California VC firm, oak9 is aiming to establish a strong presence in the Chicago security software space, according to Datta. It plans to invest in furthering its cybersecurity tech that brings a modern-day solution to an issue that’s existed for years.
In the past, companies would have to build huge data centers so developers could get servers up and running to platform their applications, according to Datta. Then, when there was a push to move data to the cloud, developers could type infrastructure as code (IAC) and put their apps on top of that. However, Datta said, “that’s really the brains behind an entire application that’s up there in an area that gets exposed very easily.”
This is why oak9 was developed. Companies today can find security gaps in their IAC only after it’s already been deployed. Conversely, oak9’s platform can integrate into the app development pipeline and track any security gaps from the very beginning. It currently serves enterprise customers in industries like financial services and healthcare.
“We’re able to understand the overall application, and any changes that occur to infrastructure as a code, we’re right there able to tell the developer or security teams, ‘Hey, your application’s gone adrift, you need to update these settings in order to make sure that you’re in compliance,’” Datta said.
With its new funding, oak9 is mainly investing in research and development. The company is hiring new additions to its 40-person team with a focus on development and security engineering. It’s also putting capital toward marketing and customer success.
