A Brickell Startup Just Raised $1.25M for AI Privacy

A billion AI tokens passed through this Miami startup in a single day. The company says it still couldn't read a single one of the prompts.

September 02, 2026
A Brickell Startup Just Raised $1.25M for AI Privacy Companies

Summary: TrustedRouter, headquartered in Brickell, raised a $1.25 million seed round from investors including Slow Ventures' Sam Lessin, early Zoom and Canva backer Bill Tai, 23andMe co-founder Linda Avey and former Stripe data lead George Xing, to grow its open-source, privacy-focused AI router. The platform gives developers access to more than 600 models from over 81 providers through a single API, using confidential computing so the router itself cannot read customer prompts, and recently crossed one billion tokens routed in a single day. Founder Joseph Perla, a four-time exited founder and former Facebook and Lyft employee, says the company is bringing on hundreds of customers in legal, finance and healthcare who need to keep client data private.

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A billion AI tokens passed through this Miami startup in a single day. The company says it still couldn't read a single one of the prompts.

TrustedRouter, headquartered in Brickell, has raised a $1.25 million seed round to keep building that system. The company calls itself an open source, verifiable AI router.

What TrustedRouter Actually Does

Instead of sending every task to one AI model, TrustedRouter directs each request elsewhere. It picks whichever option best fits cost, speed and security needs.

The platform gives developers access to more than 600 models from over 81 providers through a single API. Its routing code is open source, so technical teams can review exactly how it works.

"AI applications should not be locked to one model," founder Joseph Perla wrote in a LinkedIn announcement. "Different jobs need different models, and switching should not require rebuilding the application or giving up control of private data."

The Investors Betting on Privacy-First AI

The round includes Sam Lessin of Slow Ventures, an early investor in Zoom and Canva. Bill Tai, who wrote some of the first checks into those same companies, also backed the round.

23andMe co-founder Linda Avey joined too, along with former Stripe data lead George Xing.

Bill Tai described the problem TrustedRouter is solving in blunt terms. Companies are "struggling with the double-edged sword" of getting employees using AI without blowing their annual budget in six weeks, he told Axios.

Why Privacy Is the Whole Pitch

A routing service that touches every prompt creates its own security risk. TrustedRouter says its open-source system uses confidential computing so the router itself cannot view customer prompts.

Businesses can also choose which AI providers are allowed to receive their data for specific tasks.

Perla is a four-time exited founder and former Facebook and Lyft employee. He built TrustedRouter after watching companies worry about how closed-source routers might use their internal data.

The Scale This Router Is Already Handling

TrustedRouter has been publicly in beta since May, growing through word of mouth alone. It recently crossed one billion tokens routed in a single day.

Hundreds of customers have joined so far, many in legal, finance and healthcare. Those are industries where client data privacy carries real regulatory weight.

What This Signals for Miami's AI Scene

Slow Ventures' Sam Lessin called routing a critical part of the AI story. It gives companies a trusted, private way to use AI tools without leaking data.

For Brickell, a $1.25 million seed round with backers of this caliber is a signal. Miami's AI infrastructure scene isn't limited to data centers and chip deals. It now includes the software layer routing the requests between them.

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