mithrilAI – MICRO Fall 2024
Published May 14, 2025
As part of our ‘Meet Our Founders’ series today, we introduce Furkan Aydin, Head of Engineering of mithrilAI based in Cary, NC. mithrilAI develops artificial intelligence hardware designed to thwart hardware attacks, including side-channel and fault injection threats.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: At mithrilAI, we are addressing the need for trusted AI/ML hardware that can withstand physical attacks. While software defenses are effective against many types of digital threats, they fall short against physical attacks that target the hardware directly. As AI and ML are applied everywhere, custom chips are crucial for processing these tasks efficiently in edge devices and IoT systems, which operate under strict energy and speed constraints. However, these devices are often exposed to risks, as attackers with physical access can exploit vulnerabilities to extract sensitive data or manipulate device behavior. mithrilAI holds exclusive rights to foundational intellectual property that ensures secure AI hardware across diverse applications, providing the trusted solutions needed for edge intelligence.
Q: What are you most excited about right now? What keeps you up at night?
A: Right now, we’re excited about advancing our countermeasure defense solutions to enhance AI hardware security. Our goal is to provide robust protection while minimizing the impact on area and performance. Ensuring that our security solutions don’t compromise efficiency or speed, especially in real-time and resource-constrained environments, is a key focus for us.
What keeps us up at night is the challenge of maintaining this balance—developing highly effective defenses against sophisticated hardware attacks while optimizing performance and minimizing area usage. It’s a complex endeavor, but it’s what drives our continuous innovation.
Q: What does the road ahead look like for your company?
A: The road ahead for our company is both exciting and ambitious. With the NSF SBIR Phase I, NC SBIR Matching Fund, and NC IDEA MICRO Award, we’re well-positioned to expand our defense solutions and deliver innovative security to AI hardware. Our focus remains on advancing technology to tackle evolving security challenges, especially for edge and IoT applications where strong protection is essential. Through ongoing market research, we’ve identified promising sectors like drones and autonomous vehicles as key areas for our solutions. Looking forward, we plan to file a patent to safeguard our innovations and are preparing to apply for the NSF SBIR Phase II award. These steps support our mission to set new standards in AI hardware security, ensuring our solutions are secure, efficient, and ready for critical real-world applications.
Q: How will your NC IDEA grant funds advance your company?
A: Our NC IDEA MICRO grant funds will play a crucial role in advancing our company by supporting our patent applications. Securing patents will help protect our innovations and strengthen our intellectual property portfolio, allowing us to safeguard our unique solutions in AI hardware security. This protection is essential as we continue developing cutting-edge technologies and expanding into key markets, reinforcing our position as a leader in secure AI hardware.
Q: Who do you look to for advice and mentorship?
A: David Germano has been mentoring mithrilAI Corp. since February 2024. He has helped mithrilAI with interviews for customer and business discovery during the NCSU regional I-Corps program. His 28 years of experience at Intel Corporation covered various roles including Vice President and General Manager of multiple business units.
While visiting the Triangle, Furkan recommends:
- North Carolina Museum of Art: Explore a vast collection of artworks spanning centuries, along with outdoor installations in the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park.
- Downtown Raleigh: Discover historic neighborhoods, museums, and a vibrant arts scene in the heart of the city.
- Fine Dining Restaurants: Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Margaux’s Restaurant, and Herons Restaurant at The Umstead Hotel.
Support mithrilAI and Furkan by:
- They can reach us at mithrilai@gmail.com to discuss how to engage with us. Support from readers can greatly boost mithrilAI’s mission to build AI hardware that resists various types of security threats. Whether by providing funding, collaborating on projects, or connecting us with key industry contacts, your involvement will help us bring safer, more resilient AI technology to the world. Thank you for considering how you can be part of our journey!
