Please welcome Symbiotic Security, the first real-time security platform for software development

Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

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Meet Symbiotic Security, the latest addition to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio.

HQ: New York

Founders: Jerome Robert and Edouard Viot

The problem: Traditional approaches to code security are broken. As the digital world accelerates and as bad actors mount increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats using generative AI, the dominant paradigm for cybersecurity has become obsolete. Cybersecurity teams are stretched thin and can no longer keep up with the increase in attacks. Moreover, after-the-fact detections are frustrating and expensive and lead to massive unaddressed security backlogs and redundant development cycles. In recent years, the concept of “shift-left” — which integrates security directly into the development process — has gained purchase among developers, but it faces significant challenges to adoption, including a lack of tools and training. There is a clear need for new solutions that can keep up with the pace of cyberattacks in the digital age and reorient security around the coding process.

Symbiotic Security’s solution: Symbiotic Security is the industry’s first real-time security platform for software developers that combines detection and remediation with just-in-time training, incorporating security testing and training directly into the development process without breaking developer workflow. Symbiotic is built using the “shift-left” principle, and integrates security into the earliest parts of the Software Development Life Cycle. Symbiotic provides developers with real-time feedback on potential security vulnerabilities as they write code, as well as remediation recommendations and training with information that helps further educate developers on the specific security issues encountered. With Symbiotic, security concerns are no longer an afterthought. Instead, they are considered a foundational part of the coding process.

Origin story: With a combined almost 40 years of cybersecurity experience, Jerome and Edouard have held positions in most cybersecurity fields and held executive roles in both startups and larger companies. In that time they’ve seen how, while IT evolved to become more decentralized and empower developers to exercise more ownership, security remained stagnant. They felt, first-hand, the resulting frustration between developers and security teams, and witnessed the resulting desensitization to cybersecurity. The pair also recognized that, if left unchecked, that same desensitization would have seismic effects on the security of everything — and everyone. Something had to be done. The result is Symbiotic Security, whose quest is to build solutions that, first and foremost, are designed to make security a positive experience for developers, empowering them to take an active role in security not because they have to, but because they want to.

Why we’re betting on it: Historically, developers have not been properly equipped to, nor have they found any operational gain in being responsible for securing their assets. As a result, the principle of shift-left has remained in a state of stagnation. Symbiotic is paving the way for its widespread adoption and the transformation of security into a dynamic and streamlined process. Jerome and Edouard have a deep understanding of the problems underlying traditional code security and have demonstrated remarkable foresight with their approach to addressing the growing demand for “shift-left” security solutions. Already, eight companies are leveraging their remediation plugin and training solution with clear results. Symbiotic has the potential to revolutionize the industry, empowering developers and security teams alike.

Our take: As investors and operators in digital businesses over the past decade, as well as in cybersecurity platforms, we at LH have been first-hand observers of the digital transformation and the concurrent rise of cyberattacks. In recent years, security teams have struggled to keep up with breaches and patch vulnerabilities. More often than not, they also need to move slowly so they don’t disrupt existing workflows and processes. Jerome and Edouard and the Symbiotic team have built a platform that will help developers ship clean code, which will help eliminate security backlogs all without disrupting workflows. As a result, developers can be confident in the code they write and security teams can work more efficiently. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Symbiotic as they execute on their vision of making “shift-left” the new paradigm for security in the digital age.

Further reading: “Symbiotic Security helps developers find bugs as they code” via TechCrunch

Check out Symbiotic on LinkedIn.

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Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

Published in Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital fund founded and operated in New York City. We invest in good people with great ideas who redefine categories — and create new ones entirely.

Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

Written by Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is the most active early-stage venture capital fund in New York.

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