Saint John Region Headquartered AI Security Company Continues to Expand

A Saint John-based tech company has raised more than $12 million CAD and is an industry leader for artificial intelligence (AI) security.

TrojAI launched in 2019 when co-founders James Stewart and Stephen Goddard paired up to tackle a problem they saw in the market. The company was inspired by the Canadian Parliament attack in 2014 to enhance video analytics and reduce vulnerabilities around AI.

James, a computer scientist and University of New Brunswick Saint John grad met Stephen (also a UNB alum) on a judo mat back in the early 2000s. Stephen’s entrepreneurial and financial skillset coupled with James’s cybersecurity and public safety expertise was the foundation for TrojAI – a company that now employes 25 staff with offices in Saint John, Fredericton and Boston.

“Every model across AI disciplines, whether it's computer vision, natural language processing, more traditional models, or new generative AI - all of those models have bounds of competence,” James explained. “Every model has vulnerabilities, and you need to pen test the model to identify where it is susceptible to making mistakes.”

James said their business helps detect where malicious actors like to play. It supplies the system with monitoring tools and the inputs to protect those from suspected interference.

From a two-person operation to a team of 25, today TrojAI is working with multiple Fortune 500 companies, but Stephen highlighted the company is still in its early days.

“I think in the journey of startup milestones the first would be when we celebrated our first hires and building the first product,” he said. “By the time we got to the end of 2021 and into 2022, we had our first commercial engagement and that helped inform the product journey. But then by the end of 2022, we had what was essentially a fully baked product offering.”

He shared how every equity raise is a key milestone – allowing them to expand their investor base and attract attention across North America.

“Each day is just small incremental steps,” he said. “But as you look back, going from inception to first product to some funding to full product and then generative AI breaking into the consciousness of a lot of people. That’s when the world kind of turned upside down, which was in a way a milestone because all of a sudden people want to talk about AI security.”

In today’s AI climate, TrojAI is carving a name for themselves as a growing AI security company on the East Coast. James and Stephen share how they have received a lot skepticism about building their company from Saint John, New Brunswick but are excited as they continue to prove we have access to a world-class talent pool.

They reflect on the Saint John Region’s history of success in the cybersecurity space, with IBM’s acquisition of Q1 Labs and the establishment of the Canadian Institute of Cyber Security.

“We probably could have built a remote team post pandemic, with everything that's happened in the marketplace,” Stephen said.  “But there's just a lot of really good local talent that we can draw upon here, and because we're building fairly new technology, the collaboration of being close together has been beneficial.” 

As you walk into the TrojAI headquarters, there is a mix of computer wiz and enthusiastic gamer energy – with arcade games displayed as interior decoration – strategically placed to inspire creativity and provide some team bonding.

Each staff member has a unique Lego figurine that showcases a bit of their personality, but also the various skillsets they bring to the table. It is a personal touch that showcases a strong team centric culture.

And although TrojAI has experienced some key milestones throughout the last five years, James and Stephen do highlight the struggles of building a company in Atlantic Canada – such as access to capital investment. However, Envision Saint John’s Impact Loan was one of the early pieces that helped leverage next steps.

“It made a big difference and allowed us to push ahead,” Stephen said.

Today, TrojAI continues to push ahead – expanding their offices internationally with a new CEO at the helm, bringing a specialized expertise around business development to the team.

“2024 is going to be an interesting year, as we start to really get more velocity in the market,” James said. “There are more conversations happening and we’re being invited to demo to some of the largest institutions in the world.”

To learn more about TrojAI, visit their website here.