New Mexico-based startup Crogl is revolutionizing the world of cybersecurity with the launch of its autonomous assistant, designed to help researchers analyze thousands of daily network alerts and identify actual security incidents. The AI-powered tool, dubbed an "Iron Man suit" for researchers by Crogl's CEO and co-founder Monzy Merza, has already been deployed in private beta with several large enterprises and organizations.

The startup has also announced $30 million in funding, comprising a $25 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures and a previous $5 million Seed led by Tola Capital. The investment will be used to further develop the product and expand its customer base. With this move, Crogl is poised to make a significant impact in the cybersecurity industry, which is currently flooded with hundreds of security tools.

What sets Crogl apart is the background of its founders. Merza, a seasoned security expert, has a long history in the industry, having worked at the U.S. government's Sandia atomic research lab, Splunk, and Databricks. He teamed up with former Splunk colleague David Dorsey, now Crogl's CTO, to create a solution that addresses the pain points of security analysts. The duo's unique approach is rooted in their understanding of the industry's limitations and the need for a more effective solution.

The name Crogl is a portmanteau of three words: Cronus, the leader of the titans and the god of time; gnosis, meaning knowledge or awareness; and logic. This reflects the startup's mission to provide a knowledge engine that can analyze and learn from security alerts, enabling researchers to make more informed decisions.

The current state of security tools is inadequate, according to Merza, who notes that security analysts can only resolve around two dozen alerts per day, despite receiving up to 4,500 alerts in the same period. Existing tools are not designed to evaluate alerts as effectively as humans, and Crogl's solution aims to change this by leveraging big data and large language models.

Crogl's platform is designed to flag suspicious activity, learn from signals, and allow researchers to query alerts using natural language. This enables them to identify trends and patterns, making it easier to prioritize and remediate security incidents. The potential for Crogl to expand into other areas, such as remediation, is significant, and investors like Tim Tully of Menlo Ventures are confident in the team's capabilities.

Tully, who led the investment into Crogl, has a long history with the team, having previously worked with them at Splunk. He believes that the team's experience and understanding of the space make them well-positioned to tackle the complex challenges of cybersecurity.

With its innovative approach and significant funding, Crogl is poised to make a significant impact in the cybersecurity industry. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, the need for effective solutions that can keep pace with emerging threats has never been more pressing. Crogl's autonomous assistant is a promising development in the quest to stay ahead of cyber threats.