Israeli startup Apex gets initial investment from OpenAI's Altman
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Apex secured $7 million in a seed fundraising round headed by Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures, with participation from Altman and others, the company said.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit on November 16, 2023. (AP)
According to Reuters, Israeli cybersecurity start-up Apex, which focuses on "protecting the rapid use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools" announced on Thursday that it had received an undisclosed investment from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Apex secured $7 million in a seed fundraising round headed by Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures, with participation from Altman and others, the company said.
The firm stated that it has conducted trials with a number of Fortune 500 organizations and investment firms and was close to concluding paid contracts. The fresh money will be used to accelerate product development, recruiting, and marketing, according to the business.
Matan Derman, the chief executive officer of Apex stated that there is an increased demand of AI solutions citing it was a watershed moment for the technology.
"We started Apex to build the extra layers of security that's needed for enterprises to adopt (AI)," Derman stated, adding that "We will try to take this as far as we can."
Derman co-founded Apex ten months ago with Tomer Avni, whom he met while serving with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) elite 8200 intelligence unit. Since then, the corporation has been functioning in so-called stealth mode, working in secret with a select few companies.
According to Avni, "Every board, every CEO, every investor and every entrepreneur is talking about AI and how they can leverage AI," adding that "So, the need for security is much more imminent."
UN experts condemn AI use by 'Israel' in Gaza genocide
Last month, a group of UN experts discussed the intentional use of artificial intelligence (AI) by "Israel" in its war on Gaza and its genocidal campaign.
The Israeli military's airstrikes in Gaza utilized a previously undisclosed AI-powered database, dubbed Lavender, which reportedly identified 37,000 alleged targets which the Israelis claim are linked to the Palestinian Resistance, according to intelligence sources familiar with the ongoing aggression.
"Six months into the current military offensive, more housing and civilian infrastructure has now been destroyed in Gaza as a percentage, compared to any conflict in memory," they expressed in a statement.
The experts cited the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese, who said in her recent report to the Human Rights Council that the systematic destruction and abolition of housing, services, and civilian infrastructure constitute a crime against humanity and a domicide, alongside numerous war crimes and acts of genocide.
"If proven true, the shocking revelations of the use of AI systems by the Israeli military such as "Gospel", "Lavender" and "Where's Daddy?", combined with lowered human due diligence to avoid or minimize civilian casualties and infrastructure, contribute to explaining the extent of the death toll and home destruction in Gaza," the experts continued.
Israeli intelligence sources revealed that they used a previously undisclosed #AI-powered database, dubbed #Lavender, during the #Gaza genocide and admitted to targeting civilians to reach Resistance fighters. pic.twitter.com/JIfcZksy0R
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 7, 2024
Israeli utilization of sophisticated AI technology in its genocidal campaign in Gaza marks new territory in modern warfare, adding to the legal and ethical scrutiny and reshaping the dynamics between military personnel and automated systems.
‘It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home’
The testimony from the six intelligence officers, all of whom have been involved in using AI systems to identify "targets" allegedly affiliated with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) during the war, was provided to Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham. This information was published in a report by publication +972 Magazine and outlet Local Call.
The testimonies published by +972 and Local Call may shed light on how a modern military with advanced capabilities and precision weapons could still inflict significant casualties during warfare.
According to the testimonies, when targeting suspected Resistance fighters, the preference was to strike when they were believed to be present at their family's homes.
“We were not interested in killing [Hamas] operatives only when they were in a military building or engaged in a military activity,” one said. “It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home. The system is built to look for them in these situations.”
The strategy posed a risk of increased civilian casualties, and according to the sources, the IOF enforced predetermined limits on the acceptable number of civilian casualties in strikes targeting individual Resistance fighters. This ratio was reported to have evolved over time and differed based on the seniority of the target.
