As generative AI tools quietly become embedded in everyday workflows, enterprises are struggling with the rising risks of data leaks, compliance breaches, and soaring infrastructure costs. In response, Unbound, a security-first AI infrastructure startup, has raised $4 million in seed funding to help organizations take back control of their AI usage.
Highlights of the Funding and Founders
- The round was led by Race Capital with participation from:
- Y Combinator
- Wayfinder Ventures
- Massive Tech Ventures
- Angel investors like Ram Shriram (Google founding board member) and Eli Brown (CEO of Guilded)
- Founded by Rajaram Srinivasan (CEO) and Vignesh Subbiah (CTO), both ex-leaders at Adobe, Palo Alto Networks, and Imperva
- Unbound’s solution addresses a new category in AI infrastructure: governance, observability, and cost optimization for generative AI at scale
What Unbound Solves
- Employees are increasingly using tools like Cursor, Roo, and other internal copilots—often without IT’s knowledge
- Traditional data loss prevention (DLP) tools are ineffective at detecting sensitive information in natural language prompts
- Without oversight, companies risk exposing:
- Passwords
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
- Intellectual property
- Patient data
What Makes Unbound Different
- The AI Gateway platform developed by Unbound enables:
- Real-time monitoring of AI prompts
- Redaction of sensitive data
- Policy-based access controls
- Routing prompts to the safest or most cost-efficient model (e.g., internal or open-source LLMs)
- Rather than blocking usage, Unbound provides a middle ground, maintaining productivity while protecting data
Results So Far
- Over 7,000 potential data leaks prevented, including:
- Hundreds of secret credentials
- Sensitive patient information
- Customers reported up to 70% cost savings by routing requests to lower-cost, high-performance AI models
Global and India-Specific Growth Plans
- Unbound plans to invest over $1 million in India for hiring and scaling operations
- Currently operating with an 8-member team in Bengaluru
- Aims to address India’s rising demand for affordable, high-performance AI governance tools
“India is known for cost-efficient innovation. Just like the Mars mission cost less than the movie Gravity, our clients are seeing similar cost-performance gains in AI,” said Rajaram Srinivasan, CEO of Unbound.
Vision for the Future
- Unbound wants to make AI observability, data safety, and cost discipline core to how enterprises deploy LLMs
- The platform is designed for:
- Enterprises integrating copilots into their tools
- Teams that need flexible AI models without compromising on security
- Organizations aiming to stay compliant while encouraging innovation
“Blanket bans on AI are outdated. With Unbound, enterprises can apply surgical controls instead,” added CTO Vignesh Subbiah.
“AI’s enterprise market value is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033. Without tools like Unbound, that potential is at risk,” said Edith Yeung, General Partner at Race Capital.
