Veeam Acquires AI Startup Alcion, Appoints New CTO

Veeam Software is buying the AI-focused data management startup Alcion and appointing its founder as its new CTO.

Veeam announced the acquisition on Wednesday. Alcion sells backup solutions for Microsoft 365 to provide cyber resilience against ransomware, malware and other cyberattacks. The cyber resilience provider appointed Alcion co-founder Niraj Tolia as its chief technology officer. Tolia will help lead Veeam's product strategy for its new Data Cloud product.

Alcion's team will join Veeam's crew immediately, the company claims.

Veeam's Anand Eswaran

“Niraj is one of those rare individuals who not only understands where the market is headed but also possesses the skills and vision to bring that future to life for our customers,” said Anand Eswaran, CEO at Veeam. “He has already demonstrated this with the creation of Kasten, which has become the No. 1 solution for Kubernetes data resilience since being acquired by Veeam in 2020. His proven track record, combined with the explosive growth of Veeam Data Cloud – the fastest growing product in Veeam’s history – creates a tremendous opportunity for Veeam to redefine the market once again for data resilience.”

Alcion + Veeam

Tolia previously worked as general manager of the Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes business unit from 2020-2022 before splitting off to build Alcion. During that time, the company's team built a "security-first AI-driven backup-as-a-service (BaaS) platform." Now Tolia believes that combining the two companies will be in the customer's best interest.

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Alcion's Niraj Tolia

“Everything starts with the customer,” said Tolia. “In our digital world, protecting data and ensuring its resilience against threats and outages is more critical than ever. Combining Alcion’s AI and security capabilities with the robust power of Veeam Data Cloud gives us an extraordinary opportunity to enhance our solutions and reinforce Veeam’s leadership in data resilience.”

The Alcion acquisition is one of Veeam's latest expansions in 2024. In June, the company announced a partnership with Lenovo to provide TruScale Backup Service.