Hackers don’t break in, they log in.
This deceptively simple statement captures the fundamental shift in cybersecurity that caught our attention at Leo Capital. While organizations deploy sophisticated security protocols, an area often overlooked that allows attackers to breach in: digital identities.
We’re entering an era where AI agents operate with their own identities, requiring privileged access to sensitive data. This exponentially expands the attack surface for enterprises already struggling with identity management. The numbers are stark: 81% of cloud breaches involve stolen credentials, and experts predict a 40x growth in machine identities due to AI adoption.
Enter Unosecur, a cloud identity security platform founded by serial entrepreneur Santhosh Jayaprakash that secures both human and machine identities across today’s AI-powered landscapes.
Why are we excited?
When we first met Santhosh, we were struck by his unique insights into cloud security challenges. Having previously built and sold Powerupcloud Technologies to LTI and bootstrapped Ankercloud, Santhosh had seen firsthand the vulnerability of cloud environments to identity-based attacks. He has also built a deep network with the CISOs of large cloud businesses.
Three things about Unosecur immediately caught our attention and made us believe it is an aha! product:
Runtime Protection – Unosecur works at runtime, stopping attacks while they’re happening rather than relying on after-the-fact detection.
AI-Powered Intelligence – The platform uses AI for behavior analytics, automated remediation, and natural language policy generation.
Unified Identity Protection – Unosecur addresses both human and non-human identities across multi-cloud environments, critical as autonomous AI systems proliferate with privileged access to sensitive systems.
The timing for Unosecur couldn’t be better. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 90% of organizations will use Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), up from just 5-20% today. The market is projected to grow from $13 billion to $50 billion by 2030.
Recent acquisitions validate this opportunity: Cisco acquired Oort less than 10 months after investing in its Series A, and Okta purchased Spera for $100 million just 6 months after its seed round.
With the average cost of a data breach at $4.3 million and cyber attacks predicted to cost organizations $9.5 trillion in 2024, the financial imperative is clear.
Major tailwinds are driving unprecedented demand:
- Cloud transformation dissolving traditional security perimeters
- High-profile breaches focus executive attention
- Tightening compliance requirements
- AI agents creating new security challenges
With Santhosh and the Unosecur team, we also see a strong fit with our “Global Indian Alpha” thesis, businesses that combine the India advantage with global go-to-market capabilities. Unosecur exemplifies this perfectly.
Santhosh, born in India and based in Berlin, has assembled a team that leverages India’s cybersecurity talent while maintaining a European base for customer collaboration. This delivers three advantages:
- Capital Efficiency: Building enterprise-grade security at a fraction of the cost
- Global Perspective: Understanding security needs across the US, European, and Asian markets
- Technical Depth: Combining India’s engineering talent with global product thinking
This has allowed Unosecur to develop a platform that competes with solutions from much larger competitors while gaining customer validation across multiple geographies.
The Road Ahead
As enterprises shift to identity-first security models, accelerated by the proliferation of AI agents, Unosecur is ideally positioned to become a leader in cloud identity protection. Founded in 2021, they’ve spent years quietly perfecting their technology foundation. This head start in building runtime protection and AI-powered detection gives them a significant competitive advantage as the market accelerates.
The cybersecurity industry has historically been dominated by North American and Israeli companies, but we’re seeing a new wave of global innovation led by founders with unique perspectives.
We believe Unosecur represents the future of identity security, capital-efficient, globally competitive, and designed for the age of autonomous AI agents.
