Aug 17, 2025

Guardian of your data in the AI era – why we invested in 1.Security

Guardian of your data in the AI era – why we invested in 1.Security

Every tech revolution has its own “invisible problem”. For Microsoft 365 and Copilot it’s … a permissions mess.

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Adam Bartkiewicz

Partner

Partner at Digital Ocean Ventures Starter VC, where he is responsible for sourcing startups, fund communications, technology and ongoing support of portfolio companies. In previous professional life, a consultant helping startups and technology companies with business model validation and product discovery. Coached teams from companies such as Allegro, ING, Onet, Santander, STS, Volkswagen, and Modivo. Mentor in numerous acceleration and incubation programs for startups, speaker at industry events related to the startup, technology and leadership ecosystem. In personal life, enjoys learning how to handle failures and celebrate victories on the golf course, tennis and basketball court.

Avatar - Invstor X Framer Template

Adam Bartkiewicz

Partner

Partner at Digital Ocean Ventures Starter VC, where he is responsible for sourcing startups, fund communications, technology and ongoing support of portfolio companies. In previous professional life, a consultant helping startups and technology companies with business model validation and product discovery. Coached teams from companies such as Allegro, ING, Onet, Santander, STS, Volkswagen, and Modivo. Mentor in numerous acceleration and incubation programs for startups, speaker at industry events related to the startup, technology and leadership ecosystem. In personal life, enjoys learning how to handle failures and celebrate victories on the golf course, tennis and basketball court.

Avatar - Invstor X Framer Template

Adam Bartkiewicz

Partner

Partner at Digital Ocean Ventures Starter VC, where he is responsible for sourcing startups, fund communications, technology and ongoing support of portfolio companies. In previous professional life, a consultant helping startups and technology companies with business model validation and product discovery. Coached teams from companies such as Allegro, ING, Onet, Santander, STS, Volkswagen, and Modivo. Mentor in numerous acceleration and incubation programs for startups, speaker at industry events related to the startup, technology and leadership ecosystem. In personal life, enjoys learning how to handle failures and celebrate victories on the golf course, tennis and basketball court.

Every tech revolution has its own “invisible problem”.

For Microsoft 365 and Copilot it’s … a permissions mess.

Over the years companies have amassed documents, files, spreadsheets and presentations. People leave, roles change, new teams and apps arrive, and access rights pile up like keys handed out at too many parties. No one has a full map of who sees what, why and since when.

That condition is called permission sprawl – a proliferation of privileges in which more and more people, applications or teams are given access to data, yet nobody reins it in, so the footprint grows far beyond what is needed.

On top of that comes permission creep – when a user or system holds onto old permissions after switching roles or projects, even though they no longer need them. The result is a cumulative stack of rights from different stages of employment, significantly increasing the risk of a data leak.

Then along comes Copilot – with exactly the same permissions we have. If someone once had a peek at a sensitive folder, Copilot can see it too. No questions asked.

1.Security exists so that this problem doesn’t turn into a catastrophe.

What do they do?

They’re building an intelligent security layer over Microsoft 365. Already today it lets you see the entire permissions structure in real time; in the next stages it will enable instant corrections and automatic AI‑based detection of sensitive data – for example, PESEL numbers in spreadsheets, financial figures in PDF reports or confidential contracts in text files – even when hidden in unusual file types or buried deep in folder trees.

It works in the cloud or on‑premises, doesn’t demand an army of administrators, speaks the language of non‑technical users, and deploys in days, not months.

Why now?

  • Microsoft 365 has more than 345 million paying users.

  • AI assistants are becoming part of the daily workflow in companies of every size.

  • Regulations (GDPR, NIS2, HIPAA) are tightening audit and compliance requirements.

  • Market giants – Varonis, Hornet Security, AvePoint – offer comprehensive but expensive and time‑consuming solutions. Smaller vendors often focus on single functions, leaving gaps in automated permission correction and AI‑driven security.

Why are we getting involved?

Because it’s rare to find such a complete package:

  • A problem you can’t ignore – permission sprawl and creep are no longer about IT convenience; they’re a real business risk in the AI era.

  • A product proven in the wild – the system has already been tested in large, complex Microsoft 365 environments, proving it can operate at enterprise scale and quickly adapt to customer demands. Its architecture was designed from the outset for AI integration, and the Visibility, Automation and Sensitivity modules are being developed toward fully automated access management and protection of sensitive data.

  • A team that delivers – Adam Żaczek and Mateusz Olek with their development and sales crew, who have weathered more than one storm together.

What’s next?

The goal is simple: become the “AI safety layer” for everyone who uses Microsoft 365 and Copilot. That’s a market worth billions. Although the platform is currently deeply integrated with Microsoft’s ecosystem, the roadmap includes expanding to other cloud environments – first Google Workspace, then other popular collaboration tools – so the same level of visibility, control and security applies no matter where an organisation works.

From zero to one - and beyond.

office@digitalocean.ventures

Digital Ocean Ventures Starter sp. z o.o.
KRS: 0001128534
NIP: 7011223871

CIC Warsaw, ul. Chmielna 73,
00-801 Warszawa, Polska

Copyright ©Digital Ocean Ventures 2026

From zero to one - and beyond.

office@digitalocean.ventures

CIC Warsaw, ul. Chmielna 73,
00-801 Warszawa, Polska

Digital Ocean Ventures Starter
sp. z o.o.
KRS: 0001128534
NIP: 7011223871

Copyright ©Digital Ocean Ventures 2026

From zero to one - and beyond.

office@digitalocean.ventures

Digital Ocean Ventures Starter
sp. z o.o.
KRS: 0001128534
NIP: 7011223871

CIC Warsaw, ul. Chmielna 73,
00-801 Warszawa, Polska

Copyright ©Digital Ocean Ventures 2026