Exclusive: Ex-NSA chief joins WitnessAI board

The big picture: Nakasone told Axios that artificial intelligence is the "most disruptive technology" of the future, and he wants to use his expertise fending off hackers and leading large organizations to help entrepreneurs navigate this emerging landscape.

Zoom in: WitnessAI builds security tools that help companies control what data feeds their generative AI tools and meet any security, data privacy and compliance requirements. The tools are designed to be model agnostic.

• WitnessAI was incubated at Ballistic Ventures — the cybersecurity-focused VC firm founded by a handful of high-profile industry names — and emerged from stealth this year with a $27.5 million Series A round.
• Nakasone joined Ballistic as a strategic adviser this summer.

Between the lines: WitnessAI is far from the only company that's working on solutions to help companies keep generative AI models from spilling confidential corporate information to employees.

• But Nakasone says the leadership and approach of the company stood out to him.
• "I saw a young company and really good leadership under [CEO] Rick [Caccia]," he said. "WitnessAI is really ensuring the safety and security of being able to use a disruptive technology."

What we're watching: Nakasone hinted that this likely won't be the last company board he joins as AI advancements continue.