Airia

Airia is a cybersecurity startup that provides an enterprise AI orchestration and governance platform, enabling organizations to build, deploy, and manage AI solutions securely and at scale. Founded in 2024 by John Marshall and Edward Nass, the Atlanta-based company emerged from stealth and has experienced rapid growth, reportedly onboarding over 300 enterprise customers and expanding to 150 employees across five continents within its first year.

The company was established to address challenges in enterprise AI adoption, including security risks, fragmented deployments, and unclear returns on investment. Co-founder John Marshall, who previously co-founded AirWatch (acquired by VMware for $1.54 billion), drew parallels between the complexities of deploying enterprise mobility and the emerging needs for a unified AI platform. Recognizing that companies would evolve beyond single AI use cases to using multiple models and complex workflows, he created Airia to provide a safer and simpler path for AI adoption. In a significant move in September 2025, Marshall committed $100 million of his own capital to the company, consisting of $50 million already invested and a future $50 million commitment. At that time, Kevin Kiley, formerly the company's president, took over as CEO, with Marshall assuming the role of Chairman.

Airia's model-agnostic platform is designed to give enterprises visibility and control over their AI ecosystems. It functions as a governance and orchestration layer for AI agents, allowing companies to mitigate vulnerabilities and maintain control without stifling innovation. Key features include a no-code agent builder, pre-built data connectors for seamless integration with existing systems, data loss prevention (DLP), AI firewalls, role-based permissions, and detailed audit logs to monitor agent activities. The platform supports various deployment options and manages the full AI lifecycle. By providing a centralized and secure environment, Airia helps organizations avoid 'AI sprawl'—the uncontrolled spread of disconnected AI solutions. Its business model appears to be subscription-based, with pricing plans that include platform fees but are exclusive of token consumption costs, which vary by the AI model used.

Keywords: Enterprise AI, AI orchestration, AI governance, AI security, agentic AI, AI lifecycle management, no-code AI, AI platform, data integration, AI adoption, cybersecurity, AI agents, AI workflows, model-agnostic, data loss prevention, AI firewall, AI compliance, John Marshall, Kevin Kiley, AirWatch