TrojAI's Groundbreaking Achievement: InnovateNB's Most Innovative Startup
James Stewart and Stephen Goddard cofounded TrojAI in 2019 when they realized that adversarial attacks on AI were causing increasing concern. With the growing popularity of AI use by businesses, TrojAI is stepping in to make sure sophisticated AI systems are pentested and monitored to protect the users’ investment and reputation.
The TrojAI Story
TrojAI's cofounder James Stewart brings a wealth of experience having graduated with a PhD in Computer Science from the University of New Brunswick and serving as a crime analyst and auxiliary police officer for 20 years. He previously founded and successfully exited a company called EhEye which specialized in automated video surveillance using computer vision models. In 2018, researchers in the field of adversarial AI discovered a way to inject noise into an image to force a misclassification. They engineered a computer vision model and managed to create a pattern that, when presented to the model, makes objects invisible to the AI. Faced with this threat, James Stewart and Stephen Goddard founded TrojAI to provide protection against potential attacks on AI.
An attack on AI is defined as a malicious attempt to trick an AI system into making incorrect or unintended decisions that could be detrimental. To solve the problem of securing AI models and applications, TrojAI secures the behavior of the AI model itself which increasingly forms the foundation of any AI application. TrojAI also monitors deployed AI models and applications to ensure that live systems continue to function as they should, and that any potential attacks against the model or application are stopped.
TrojAI is a multinational company headquartered in New Brunswick and counts some of the world's largest corporations among its customers, including Fortune 100 companies. The National Research Council of Canada is evaluating TrojAI as the AI security platform to test AI models under development at the NRC for the Government of Canada. In 2023, the company made Vector Institute's list of 20 Canadian AI Startups to Watch, and in 2024, made CB Insights’ Top 100 AI Startups.
The innovative work of TrojAI's founders earned them the Most Innovative Startup Award at the InnovateNB Awards, an event that celebrates the achievements of the province's leading innovators. The award recognizes a company that has been in business for less than 10 years and uses an innovative approach to solve a problem in the marketplace.
From left to right, Phil Munz (Manager, Data Science), Stan Petley (Director of Engineering), and Rich Taylor (Director of Customer Success)
Impact on New Brunswick
TrojAI is committed to engaging in the local community, contributing to economic development and strengthening New Brunswick's position as a leader in the development of advanced cybersecurity products.
The company has doubled in size over the past two years and opened two new offices, one in Boston and the other in Fredericton. Their data science, engineering and support staff are all based in New Brunswick. The company leverages relationships with the University of New Brunswick and New Brunswick Community College, hiring numerous data scientists, programmers and interns from these institutions.
Since its inception, the company has raised $9 million USD in capital and continues to outperform their cybersecurity competitors by fielding industry leading protections.
“I think it does speak to that talent here in New Brunswick”, remarks James Stewart, ‘there's a grittiness on the East Coast’.
Advice to Aspiring Innovators
TrojAI's cofounder James Stewart emphasizes the importance of focusing on your company's revenue pipeline and models. Whether developing a new product functionality or launching a new product, a startup must demonstrate market viability and appeal to both investors and customers. He recommends dedicating time in researching market challenges and identifying ideal customer profiles to ensure success.
“You can have the best product and there could be 101 reasons why it will not sell”, he concludes, ‘you must go down the road with purpose’.
To protect your AI models and applications against risks and attacks, visit the TrojAI website.