You have hundreds of thousands of files on your computer. Kriptos wants to know: Are they secure?
By Riley Kaminer
How many files do you have on your computer… tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe even millions?
Now, how do you keep those files secure? And what would be the risk to you, your family, and your work if these files were compromised?
The first step towards locking down this information is locating, classifying, and labeling it. The problem: this process can take hours – if not days or weeks – due to the ever-increasing proliferation of files cluttering our computers. That is, when it’s done manually.
Not with Miami-based startup Kriptos, though. The company, which has its roots in Ecuador, has developed an artificial intelligence-powered technology to automatically classify unstructured data like Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs. Whereas traditional processes take months to process a few hundred documents, Kriptos can work through millions in just a matter of days.
“What makes us different is that we classify using AI and can adapt our algorithms according to the sensitivity level,” co-founder and CEO Christian Torres told Refresh Miami. Kriptos starts each client engagement by analyzing their data classification processes and customizing the AI algorithm accordingly. “From the beginning, we really work with clients to understand what information they want to protect and help them develop a strategy.” That’s when Kriptos’s platform starts to get to work.
About 80% of Kriptos’ revenue comes from serving companies with upwards of 1,000 users. Half of the company’s clients are financial institutions such as banks and credit unions. The others come from a diverse range of industries including insurance firms, retailers, and manufacturing companies.
Torres launched Kriptos alongside co-founder and COO Alfonso Villalba in 2018. The company took part in a Techstars program that year in Israel, where they were able to work alongside a cybersecurity team from Barclays. That, plus lots of feedback from early users, enabled Kriptos to build their platform.
Since then, Kriptos has scaled to 37 employees in five countries serving customers in nine countries. Torres settled in Miramar in February 2022. “We are from Ecuador, but we are a global company with a global product,” he explained. “Miami from a location perspective works very well to access our clients and investors. It’s very strategic for us to be here.”
Kriptos has raised $5.3 million to date through three investment rounds. Its latest tranche included local investors Florida Funders and eMerge Americas.
The company was also just selected to join the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund. “That was a huge surprise,” said Torres. “Winning $150,000 equity-free and being able to go through the program has really added a lot of value. And we have seen a good return on moving to Miami to get those connections. That would not have happened if I had been based in Quito – it’s sad, but it’s the truth.”
Torres shared his ambitious growth plan for Kriptos: doubling their ARR each year for the next five years. “Now it’s more about the execution and growth,” he said. “People love our product, so we’re focused on adding new clients to our portfolio and maintaining our positive impact.”
Photo at top of post: L to R, Kriptos co-founders Christian Torres, CEO, and COO Alfonso Villalba.
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