Enabling AI Governance at Scale: Why We Invested in Calvin Risk
On the individual level, AI has been a widely discussed, recognised, and in-demand buzzword for quite some time now. On an organisational level, however, despite the rapid acceleration of AI initiatives, AI projects are stuck in deployment because the societal and financial risks of failure and the responsibility C-levels would have to bear in case of faulty algorithms are simply too great.
Understanding and testing the functionality of algorithms is an immense challenge, even at the level of individual AI systems. Doing the same for multiple systems seems impossible. Lack of expertise and the absence of established standards contribute to the limited deployment of models in organisations across various industries, particularly in highly regulated sectors.
Moreover, the European Union AI Act (EUAIA) has created additional unease since in future, noncompliance will lead to sanctions. While common corporate governance practices were successfully applied to address a similarly nascent challenge, GDPR compliance, a few years ago, evaluating AI models at scale and quantifying potential risks is a significantly more complex and resource-intensive undertaking. Combined with the constant advancements in AI, this uncertainty has raised concerns among C-level executives, with no viable solutions on the horizon.
This is why Calvin Risk is here to transform the industry — and why we invested in them
Emerging opportunities in AI governance
As part of our due diligence, we found increasing numbers of AI governance teams emerging within organisations, creating new roles, and consulting firms striving to build these capabilities. This trend underscores a rising demand for new professional profiles. Traditional roles in the second line of defense, responsible for assessing potential risks in corporate governance structures—such as data science and legal professionals—are not fully equipped for the governance of AI systems.
Furthermore, organisations currently lack a comprehensive inventory of AI models, which are often scattered across various departments. This highlights the need for a dedicated function to oversee and create organisational transparency.
Calvin Risk has the potential to fill this market gap by training and supporting non-professionals and evolving into an essential tool for AI Governance professionals, akin to GitHub for developers. Calvin Risk is positioning itself as a vital independent validation tool and a potential category leader in the emerging AI governance market.
Just as the GDPR transformed data privacy regulations and propelled Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) software companies like OneTrust to remarkable success, we believe Calvin Risk can achieve substantial growth in relation to the EUAIA.
Automating AI risk management and compliance
Calvin Risk’s unique selling proposition lies in its differentiated approach, leveraging methodology based on ETH research as a dedicated, independent tool for AI model validation and risk quantification. That sets it apart from developer-focused solutions.
The platform provides standardised, automated assessments, serving as a single source of truth for AI models and fostering internal efficiency through centralised oversight. As a pure SaaS solution, it requires no hardware and minimal support, allowing for rapid deployment.
With the increasing demand for effective risk and compliance tools, Calvin Risk is poised to create a new market segment and enhance its scalability, especially as an enabler for LLM technologies in corporate environments.
The stellar team behind Calvin Risk
Julian and Syang, the founders of Calvin Risk, impressed us with their expertise in both AI and risk quantification as well as with their extensive network of industry experts. They have built a team of top-tier researchers to stay on top of the latest advancements in academic research and new technologies developed by commercial AI players. With a strong advisory board, an effective sales division, and early projects with key customers, we believe their lean team is well-equipped to develop a leading product in their category.
Want to know more about Calvin Risk? Get in touch with us at hello@join.capital, or visit their website.
