From Detection and Response to Zero Trust: How AI is Creating New Risks and Opportunities Across Cybersecurity

AI is reshaping cybersecurity by accelerating attacks while creating four investable growth areas: identity and Zero Trust, threat detection and response, security and IT automation, and application security.

• Summit has backed more than 20 cybersecurity companies over three decades and views AI as the sector’s most significant shift since the transition from standalone antivirus to broader security platforms.
• Identity security is becoming more important as enterprises manage non-human identities such as APIs, service accounts, IoT devices and AI agents; Keeper Security illustrates the opportunity in password and access management.
• AI-native detection and response can identify anomalies beyond static rules: Summit invested in Darktrace in 2015, and Darktrace reached a $5.3 billion enterprise value when it was acquired in 2024.
• AI automation is improving security operations and IT workflows; Red Canary says its AI agents cut investigation times by 90% on average, while NinjaOne uses Patch Intelligence AI to flag risky updates before broad deployment.
• Application security is also moving toward continuous protection as AI accelerates software development and vulnerability discovery; Summit cites Invicti as an example of AI-assisted detection for DevOps and security teams.

Takeaway: Investors should focus on companies that combine AI-driven automation and analytics with human readiness across these four areas, while recognizing that technology, regulation and the ultimate impact of AI threats remain uncertain.