JumpCloud is expanding its footprint in the enterprise security landscape, but this time, it’s not with a new software feature. The company today announced the launch of JumpCloud Ventures, a new investment arm designed to support early-stage companies building solutions in identity, security, AI, and IT productivity. Along with the launch of the fund, JumpCloud has announced its first strategic investment in Tofu, a startup focused on combating identity fraud during the hiring process.
For JumpCloud, the move into venture capital represents a shift toward ecosystem building as AI has brought additional challenges for IT and security teams. According to JumpCloud CEO Rajat Bhargava, the initiative is about leveraging their scale to support the next wave of founders.
“Greg Keller and I have spent much of our careers building companies from the ground up,” said Rajat Bhargava, CEO, JumpCloud. “At our current scale, it is time to give back. We are supporting emerging companies tackling hard problems in identity and security. JumpCloud Ventures is about investing in innovation and helping these companies grow.”
The program aims to offer more than just capital. JumpCloud Ventures plans to provide portfolio companies with access to the company’s operational experience and network, though the press release notes they intend to support companies “without pushing a particular product direction,” meaning it is aimed at being a founder-friendly approach.
“Identity-based attacks often begin long before a user ever logs in,” Bhargava said. “Hiring and onboarding represent an important but underexplored area of identity risk. Tofu is bringing new thinking to that problem, which is why we’re excited to support the team through JumpCloud Ventures.”
Jason Zoltak, co-founder and CEO of Tofu, sees this verification step as a necessary layer of trust for the AI era.
“JumpCloud’s support is a strong validation of the problem we’re solving,” said Jason Zoltak. “Our mission is to build the identity and security platform for recruiting that helps establish a new foundation of trust in an AI and remote working world. This is a new problem that has suddenly emerged. While companies are ill-equipped to solve it, we’re ready to help every company establish a stronger layer of trust between talent, security, and candidates.”
9to5Mac’s take
I have heard first hand how hard it is to hire for remote teams, particularly in software roles. There is a lot of fraud and hackers looking to gain a foothold. As organizations continue to hire remotely, verifying that a a potential candidate is who they claim to be before granting access to internal corporate IT systems has become a critical security gap. AI deepfakes have made it increasingly possible for bad actors to infiltrate companies during the interview or onboarding phase.
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