GoKawiilIndex Ventures partner Shardul Shah says AI is upending cybersecurity investing
On TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Index Ventures partner Shardul Shah discussed how surging concern over AI safety and rogue agents is driving cybersecurity stocks up and pulling large capital into startups building security for AI-native systems, citing nine-figure funding rounds for companies like Instinct and Simile. Shah, who backed cloud security firm Wiz through six funding rounds before its $32 billion acquisition by Google, said periodic, human-in-the-loop security models are struggling to keep pace with AI-driven threats.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Shah's comments suggest venture firms are willing to fund AI-security startups at earlier stages and higher valuations than before, which could accelerate a shift away from traditional, manual security review processes. This shift may reflect a broader investor bet that AI-native threats require fundamentally different defensive architectures rather than incremental upgrades to existing tools.
- Cybersecurity stocks and startup valuations are rising amid growing concern over AI safety risks and autonomous 'rogue' agents.
- Index Ventures partner Shardul Shah argues traditional, human-in-the-loop security models can't keep up with AI-driven threats.
- Shah's firm previously backed Wiz through six rounds before its $32 billion acquisition by Google, and continues investing in AI-native security startups like Instinct and Simile.
Source: techcrunch.com — Theresa Loconsolo, 2026-09-23
Published there as: “The old cybersecurity model is breaking”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.