Aikido, a cyber-security start-up based in Ghent, Belgium, on Monday released an open-weight AI model aimed at helping organisations secure their data without sending data outside the country.

The model, called Altar, is a compressed and customised version of the GLM-5.3 model from Beijing-based Zhipu AI, also known as Z.ai, and can be run on local infrastructure, Aikido said.

Aikido said the model would be used in its offerings to customers such as Belgian bank Belfius.

Open-weight model

Founded in 2022, Aikido makes tools for finding and fixing security vulnerabilities in source code, cloud infrastructure, applications and devices.

In January it raised $60 million (£45m) in Series B funding at a $1bn valuation.

Earlier this month, Italian start-up Exein raised $270m at a $1.7bn valuation to build AI security products that can respond to attacks in real-time.

Security race

The potential use of AI tools to penetrate critical systems has become a growing area of concern, as companies release increasingly powerful systems that currently have little oversight.