Kameleon Security, a semiconductor startup with an advanced hardware approach to computing system cybersecurity, has announced it has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from Xilinx, as it continues building the industry’s first proactive Security Processing Unit (ProSPU), a cyber protection chip for servers, data centres, and cloud computing. This round of investment also includes funding from existing investors State of Mind Ventures and J-Ventures. Kameleon and Xilinx previously announced a collaboration to work together to strengthen the integrity of computing systems throughout their lifecycles. This work continues to deepen with a joint project underway by both companies that will be demonstrated later this year at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit.

Preventing server cyberattacks requires establishing a root of trust (RoT) from the very first boot process. This RoT can be used to extend the chain of trust throughout the system’s lifecycle, meaning that every layer in the application stack is checked against the RoT to attest its authenticity. Starting with the RoT, Kameleon has the goal of providing a holistic security solution that originates from a secure hardware infrastructure that streamlines implementation without sacrificing performance.

Kameleon’s ProSPU already protects the system at boot and through RoT, in adherence with Open Compute Project (OCP) security standards. The ProSPU will also provide protection at runtime by dynamically securing the computing platform from the hardware all the way up the stack to the application. Kameleon will demonstrate the ProSPU’s features at the OCP Global Summit in November this year, including remote attestation of Xilinx’s peripherals.

“We see a lot of opportunity for Kameleon’s unique approach to dedicated security infrastructure,” said Sina Soltani, vice president of worldwide sales, Data Center Group at Xilinx. “We are excited to be working closely with Kameleon to bring the solution to market”.

“Cloud is redefining network and application security in a way that only secured infrastructure can assure business continuity. Kameleon’s rare combination of cybersecurity and semiconductor expertise and talent is a huge differentiator on the way to pioneer a new hardware security category. Xilinx investment and collaboration is a strong signal of Kameleon’s product market fit and I look forward to seeing it come to market,” said Nir Adler, General Partner at State of Mind Ventures.