How Nexos.ai’s $35M Series A Is Solving Enterprise AI’s Security Dilemma

From Cybersecurity Titans to AI Governance Pioneers

The founders behind Nord Security, creators of the massively successful NordVPN, have turned their attention to what they see as the next major corporate vulnerability: artificial intelligence. Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, who famously bootstrapped their previous cybersecurity company to a $3 billion valuation, have now secured €30 million (approximately $35 million) for their newest venture, Nexos.ai, just months after emerging from stealth with an $8 million initial round.

From Cybersecurity Titans to AI Governance Pioneers
The AI Governance Gap That Created a $350M Valuation
How Nexos.ai’s Platform Actually Works
Beyond Enterprise: The European Data Sovereignty Angle
Proving AI’s Value While Securing Its Future

What makes this funding remarkable isn’t just the amount or timing, but the problem it addresses. As Okmanas explained, “the biggest corporate data leak” is currently unfolding as employees increasingly upload sensitive information to large language models. Rather than banning AI use altogether—an approach many enterprises have considered—Nexos.ai positions itself as a “Switzerland for LLMs,” acting as a neutral intermediary between employees and AI systems.

The AI Governance Gap That Created a $350M Valuation

According to the company, this Series A round values Nexos.ai at €300 million (approximately $350 million), a significant valuation for a company that wasn’t actively fundraising. The round was co-led by Index Ventures and Evantic Capital, with participation from previous investors Creandum and Dig Ventures, plus angel investors including the CEOs of Datadog, Klarna, Supercell, and Wix.

Okmanas noted that Evantic, the new venture firm launched by former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Miller, was particularly persistent in making the investment happen. This enthusiasm from top-tier investors underscores the critical nature of the problem Nexos.ai is solving: the security and governance vacuum that has emerged as companies race to adopt AI tools.

How Nexos.ai’s Platform Actually Works

The company‘s product consists of two main components: an AI Workspace interface for employees and an AI Gateway for developers. The gateway serves as a control layer that manages security, cost, and compliance while reducing the fragmentation that Okmanas identifies as a major barrier to enterprise AI adoption.

Key platform capabilities include:, as additional insights, according to market insights

Unified access to approximately 200 AI models through a single gateway
Security controls that prevent sensitive data from being exposed to external AI systems
Cost management features that help organizations control AI spending
Compliance oversight tailored to regulated industries

The company plans to use its new funding to accelerate support for private models, particularly important for organizations handling sensitive data that cannot be processed through public AI services.

Beyond Enterprise: The European Data Sovereignty Angle

While initially targeting enterprise customers, Nexos.ai is finding unexpected opportunities in the public sector, particularly in Europe where data sovereignty concerns are creating new market openings. European institutions increasingly worry about sending sensitive data to AI models hosted in foreign jurisdictions, creating a natural fit for Nexos.ai’s governance-focused approach.

The company is already working with several notable customers, including Bulgarian fintech unicorn Payhawk and companies within Tesonet’s portfolio—the startup building and investment company also overseen by Okmanas and Sabaliauskas.

Proving AI’s Value While Securing Its Future

Okmanas points to concrete results within their own portfolio companies as evidence that AI, when properly governed, can deliver significant value. At Hostinger, a web hosting provider, an AI assistant implementation reduced the need for human support, saving the company €10 million this year alone and eliminating the need to hire 500 additional staff.

“That’s the paradox we’re solving,” Okmanas explained. “Companies want AI’s productivity gains but fear the security implications. We make it possible to pursue the former without risking the latter.”

With the team planning to grow to 100 employees by their first anniversary and expansion across Europe and North America underway, Nexos.ai represents a significant European contender in the global AI governance landscape. Their approach—born from cybersecurity expertise and addressing what may be the most critical barrier to enterprise AI adoption—positions them at the intersection of two of technology’s most important trends.

For organizations navigating the complex terrain of AI implementation, platforms like Nexos.ai offer a path forward that doesn’t force a choice between innovation and security. As regulatory frameworks continue to evolve and AI capabilities expand, this balanced approach may prove essential for widespread enterprise adoption.