How WitnessAI raised $58M to solve enterprise AI’s biggest risk | Equity Podcast

As companies deploy AI-powered chatbots, agents, and copilots across their operations, they're facing a new risk: how do you let employees and AI agents use powerful AI tools without accidentally leaking sensitive data, violating compliance rules, or opening the door to prompt-based injections? Witness AI just raised $58 million to find a solution, building what they call "the confidence layer for enterprise AI." Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan was joined by Barmak Meftah, co-founder and partner at Ballistic Ventures, and Rick Caccia, CEO of Witness AI, to discuss what enterprises are actually worried about, why AI security become an $800 billion to $1.2 trillion market by 2031, and what happens when AI agents start talking to other AI agents without human oversight. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:03 - Peeling back the "onion layers" of AI security challenges 04:40 - Why Ballistic Ventures invested in Witness AI 07:12 - From fear to enablement: A new approach to cybersecurity 11:21 - $58M funding round and strategic investors 15:16 - Market opportunity and competitive landscape 18:08 - Speed-running through AI threats: What enterprises are paying for 21:21 - Security risks and protecting AI data 28:51 - Outro Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.