Artificial intelligence governance software startup CredoAI Inc. said today it has closed on a $21 million funding round to help enterprises advance the development of AI in a more responsible way.

Today’s round was led by CrimsoNox Capital, Mozilla Ventures and FPV Ventures, and saw participation from Sands Capital, Decibel VC, Booz Allen Hamilton and AI Fund, bringing its total amount raised to $41.3 million.

The startup is on a mission to help enterprises responsibly build, adopt and use AI at large scale, and to that end it has created what it says is a comprehensive AI governance platform that helps to automate risk and oversight management. Simultaneously, its platform also helps companies to ensure their models are in compliance with key regulatory standards, such as the EU’s AI Act, NIST and ISO.

Credo AI’s software gives organizations a simple window through which they can monitor the compliance of all of their AI initiatives. It’s designed to address both the manner of the data their AI models collect, and suggest controls that can be integrated to develop stronger guardrails that ensure they don’t go “off the rails.”

FPV Ventures co-founder and Managing Partner Pegah Ebrahimi explained that accountability is essential for enterprises to realize the full potential of AI. “Customers, boards, executives and organizations need to trust the new AI systems they deploy and Credo AI gives them the accessibility and legality needed for critical needle-moving AI use cases,” he said.

The company points out that its software is not a one-size-fits-all platform, because every organization has different priorities when it comes to AI. That’s why Credo AI works with each customer to help it understand what its values are in terms of AI, so it can work out which tools they need to ensure their AI efforts align with those values.

The funding will help it compete against an array of startups that are also aiming to capitalize on the growth of AI and the need for governance. Its competitors include the likes of Norm AI Inc., Sprinto Technology Pte. Ltd. and Atlan Ple. Ltd., which have all raised significant funding too.

Asked how it intends to set itself apart from these rivals, Credo AI Head of Product Susannah Shattuck told SiliconANGLE that most competing AI governance platforms struggle to address the unique and disparate requirements of individual companies.

“Existing data governance tools, cybersecurity offerings, and MLOps platforms each have some piece of what is needed to enable proper enterprise AI governance, but none of those products give comprehensive and centralized visibility into the big picture of AI risk across the enterprise,” Shattuck said. “Credo AI is the only solution on the market with purpose-built workflows for AI governance and AI-specific governance intelligence, which enable organizations to rapidly scale safe AI adoption.”

Credo AI and its backers believe there’s a lot of potential for a more personalized AI compliance platform, citing studies that show how global investment in AI is expected to reach as much as $200 billion by 2025. Yet while companies are throwing money at AI, they’re also faced with a growing number of regulations and laws governing the adoption of AI, one of the newer ones being U.S. President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on AI safety. New York City’s Local Law No.144, and Colorado’s comprehensive AI safety legislation.

It’s not just governments that are concerned about AI safety, but also consumers and the companies that are actually deploying it. For instance, a recent McKinsey & Co. study found that though 63% of organizations see generative AI as a top priority, 91% of them feel ill-prepared to navigate the challenges it poses.

Credo AI founder and Chief Executive Navrina Singh (pictured) said many companies are now at a critical inflection point, where they’re wanting to see a return on investment in their AI systems, but still worried about safety risks and compliance matters.

“Across the Credo AI customer base, we are seeing hundreds of AI use cases for functions ranging from risk management to customer engagement to marketing to search and beyond,” she said. “As organizations race to harness AI’s transformative power, they face mounting pressures to navigate a complex web of regulations and societal expectations.”

Credo AI says this explains why it has been able to grow its business so rapidly in the last year, increasing its revenue by thre -times while tripling its staff headcount, though it didn’t reveal more specifics. It also claims an impressive list of enterprise customers, including Mastercard Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., Ruffalo Noel Levitz LLC and Booz Allen Hamilton Corp.

The startup has forged some key partnerships during this time, too. Earlier this year, it announced a collaboration with Databricks Inc. to bring the Credo AI platform to the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, so the company’s customers can adopt AI safely at large scale. It’s also working with McKinsey to provide tailored solutions around AI risk management and governance.

Mozilla Ventures Managing Partner Mohamed Nanabhay said almost every organization today wants to embrace the latest advances and innovations in AI, but at the same time, every one of them is concerned about acting responsibly and maintaining compliance with multiple regulations. “Using Credo AI, leaders at these organizations can implement compliance and safety measures across the entire AI product lifecycle,” he said.

Credo AI said it will use the funds from today’s round to add to its leadership, go-to-market and engineering teams, intensify its innovations around governance intelligence and enhance its ability to act as a central hub for all AI risk management and governance matters.

Photo: Credo AI