Cybersecurity startup OSTO enters the market with an AI native platform for startups and SMBs
Osto, an AI-native one-stop cyber platform for startups and SMBs, has officially launched with backing from Finvolve, the venture fund of IA, PointOne Capital, and GSF. The company was co-founded by 2X cybersecurity entrepreneurs – Karmesh Gupta and Praveen Gupta,with the ambition of creating an entirely new category of cyber built specifically for fast moving startups.
The launch addresses a problem that has long sat unresolved in the startup ecosystem. A startup serious about cyber has traditionally been required to work with ten to twelve vendors, manage separate deployments & integrations for months, hire security engineering talent, and make significant upfront investments before a primary cyber resilience layer was in place. Osto brings the complete cyber stack, covering security, compliance, insurance, VAPT, and vCISO service onto a single platform that works at startup speed and cost through a monthly subscription.
The speed numbers are worth paying attention to. Osto claims its security stack can be deployed in one to two hours. Compliance readiness for frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO, which typically take six to eight weeks through traditional routes, can be achieved in seven working days on the platform. For a startup negotiating its first enterprise contract with a security questionnaire attached, that kind of speed is not a nice-to-have. It changes whether the deal closes.
The platform covers five pillars: security across cloud, application, code, endpoint, network, identity and email; compliance spanning SOC 2, ISO, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA India’s DPDP framework & many other; cyber insurance; automated and manual VAPT; and virtual CISO services. The company currently serves customers across the US, India, UAE, Latin America, Australia and processes more than one billion requests a month. Osto is headquartered in San Francisco with operations in Gurugram and grew its team from 12 to 27 within its first six months of operation.
Karmesh Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, Osto, said, “Startups are increasingly the weakest link in enterprise supply chains, not because they are careless, but because the tools built for enterprise security were never designed for them. We started Osto because we believe every startup should be able to meet enterprise grade cyber requirements from day one, without a big team, without a big budget, and without spending months figuring it out. Security should be a growth enabler, not a cost centre.”
The broader context behind Osto’s launch is an accelerating problem. Large enterprises are working with more startups than ever, particularly in areas like AI, but they are also raising their security requirements for vendors and partners. A startup that cannot demonstrate security, compliance, insurance & assessment readiness is increasingly finding itself locked out of enterprise deals, regulated markets, and due diligence processes ahead of funding rounds or acquisitions. Osto positions itself as the infrastructure that removes those blockers.
Karmesh brings a specific credibility to this space. His first venture, WiJungle, became India’s first completely free private Wi-Fi service before the telecom price war ended the business. He subsequently pivoted it into a cybersecurity company that served over 700 central and state government organisations in India and received recognitions like National Award, NASSCOM, DSCI, and the NITI Aayog-supported Aegis Gram Bell Award. After building and operationally exiting that business, he turned his focus to making real cyber accessible to the companies that need it most but are least equipped to navigate it.