Richard now counts 567 AI security companies, and he walks through the cybersecurity market trends behind the shift: boards telling CISOs to deploy AI, guardrails becoming the first purchase, and AI-first startups going after legacy tools. If you're selling cybersecurity solutions against an incumbent, or defending one, he explains why a startup with 20 customers can compete with a vendor that has thousands, and why the startups that win are the ones willing to make some noise.
In this episode:
- Why CISOs are rethinking their legacy vendors at a level Richard has never seen
- Boards and CEOs telling CISOs to deploy AI, and why guardrails get bought first
- How a startup with 20 customers competes with an incumbent that has thousands
- Security for AI vs. AI for security, and the AI security categories Richard tracks
- Cybersecurity lead generation without the safe webinar: his advice to an AI security startup told to double pipeline
- Why this year's acquisitions aren't consolidation
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
03:31 Breaking down 567 AI security companies
06:51 Why guardrails came first
10:07 Guardrails are DLP for a new channel
12:19 AI for security: vulnerability management, email and the SOC
21:10 Boards telling CISOs to deploy AI
33:33 Big vendors vs. AI-native speed
39:49 Where enterprises are spending, and why legacy tools are under review
48:22 Why it isn't consolidation
54:57 Cyber Donut hot seat: double pipeline in two quarters
59:57 What's next for IT-Harvest
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Keywords: cybersecurity sales, cyber gtm, cybersecurity marketing, cybersecurity market trends 2026, B2B cybersecurity sales, cybersecurity sales techniques, enterprise cybersecurity solutions, cybersecurity product marketing, cybersecurity industry sales growth