Nuked 
Hello, tech enthusiasts! Today, we’re diving into an exciting story about Knox, a startup that’s shaking up the world of federal cloud security.
Knox is a company founded last year aiming to streamline the process of obtaining FedRAMP, the strict security standard for government cloud services. Achieving FedRAMP can take years and cost millions, but Knox promises to cut this down to just three months and at a fraction of the cost.
CEO Irina Denisenko, who has firsthand experience with FedRAMP hurdles, launched Knox after helping her previous company, Class, secure a federal contract quickly by acquiring a FedRAMP-certified vendor. Her goal was to make security compliance faster and more affordable for software vendors seeking government contracts.
Recently, Knox secured a $6.5 million seed round led by Felicis, with investments from Ridgeline and FirsthandVC. This funding will help Knox expand its services, which include continuous testing and auditing tools that help clients meet FedRAMP standards without years of effort.
Major players like Adobe and Class are already using Knox’s platform. The service assesses infrastructure, code, and policies, remediates issues, or flags concerns, making compliance less risky and more manageable. This is especially important as more companies look to tap into lucrative government markets.
Palantir is a notable competitor with its FedStart platform, but Denisenko sees Knox as a critical player that can offer faster, more accessible solutions, especially for smaller vendors. Knox’s platform provides ongoing security checks and manages compliance risks, relieving vendors of the heavy lifting involved in FedRAMP certification.
