American University SIS Alumni, Professor Emeritus Launch Cybersecurity App
Kibu was the subject of a recent feature highlighting the origin of the company, born from a friendship, a shared mission, and a vision for a more trustworthy internet.
In a profile by American University’s School of International Service, the article explores how Kibu founders Ari Andersen and Eftychis Gregos-Mourginakis—both SIS alumni—partnered with their former professor Eric Novotny to build a communication platform designed for today’s most urgent security challenge: verifying what’s real and who can be trusted online.
“We believe so fundamentally that this technology needs to exist,” said Andersen. “There needs to be a little corner of the internet where you know who’s real, what’s real, and who can be trusted.”
The idea for Kibu emerged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when misinformation and AI-generated content were spreading rapidly across social platforms. Drawing on insights from their cybersecurity studies at AU—and fueled by concern about the growing threat of deepfakes—the founders envisioned a system where trust could serve as a security layer.
That vision became Kibu: a platform that combines end-to-end encryption, biometric authentication, and consensus-based access controls to create secure, private spaces for trusted communication—known as Kibu Pods.
Unlike traditional messaging tools, Kibu does not rely on passwords, usernames, or emails. Access is granted only through device biometrics and approval from existing pod members. If a user’s biometric identity changes, their Kibu credentials are automatically wiped from the system, preventing unauthorized access even if a device is compromised.
“It’s sort of like a castle with a moat and a drawbridge,” Andersen explained. “You can’t get in unless I put down the drawbridge and invite you into the space.”
Since launching in app stores at the end of 2024, Kibu has seen growing traction among clients in high-trust, high-risk environments. The company signed its first client—a global risk advisory firm—in 2023 and continues to expand into financial institutions, family offices, and government-aligned organizations.
At its core, Kibu is more than a product—it’s the realization of a long-standing mission to bring real-world trust into digital spaces. And it all started with two students, a mentor, and a conversation about the internet’s next great challenge.
