SANDS Lab to supply AI NDR solution in Japan through sales agreements with local companies

SANDS Lab to supply AI NDR solution in Japan through sales agreements with local companies

• Agreement with a Japanese company with 50 years of experience marks SANDS Lab’s first official overseas expansion
• Compact NDR design wins recognition as a solution suited to local Japanese conditions
• Commercial potential recognized overseas first, with strong expectations in the SMB market

Photo 1. SANDS Lab CEO Kim Ki-hong (center) with PIOPLATFORM CEO Oh Ki-won (left) and PSI President Tozawa (right) at the agreement ceremony.

AI security technology specialist SANDS Lab (KOSDAQ 411080, CEO Kim Ki-hong) announced that it signed an agreement on sales and service cooperation for AI-based NDR in Japan with local vendors PIOPLATFORM and PSI at PIOLINK’s Tokyo office on March 26.

Under the agreement, SANDS Lab plans to develop and supply a product tailored to Japan based on its AI-driven network detection and response (NDR) solution MNX. This next-generation network security solution visualizes all network traffic, uses AI to detect even unknown threats in real time, and includes an AI assistant that provides response guidance to improve security monitoring capabilities.

PIOPLATFORM was established in Japan by network security vendor PIOLINK (KOSDAQ 170790, CEO Cho Young-cheol). It serves customers in telecommunications, electrical equipment, automotive, public sector, general business and manufacturing, providing service-based products suited to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as well as on-premises products for public institutions and enterprises.

Distributor PSI is a network and security solutions company celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As a Japanese company, it has a strong nationwide sales network serving major telecom operators, trading companies, office equipment manufacturers, public institutions and other industries, delivering notable results. PSI also supplies products from global companies including Fortinet, Check Point and Cisco.

A SANDS Lab representative explained that its recent success in miniaturizing NDR expanded its target market beyond large enterprises to SMBs whose security relies mainly on firewalls and is often vulnerable. This became a major advantage in Japan, where an aging population has created a shortage of specialists and high labor costs.

Photo 2. The Japanese export version of SANDS Lab’s AI NDR interface, with the AI assistant explaining response guidance in Japanese.

PIOPLATFORM CEO Oh Ki-won said, “I am pleased and proud to bring this outstanding Korean solution, which we have been watching closely, to Japan. As an AI NDR solution suited to Japanese small businesses and SOHOs with few or no IT administrators, we expect it to generate explosive sales growth in the SMB network security market.”

PSI President Tozawa said, “Demand and interest are growing for enhanced security systems that use AI alongside existing UTMs, security switches and secure access points. Because this creates synergies with existing security systems rather than duplicating investments, we expect strong market interest in its greater threat visibility and blocking capabilities.”

CEO Kim Ki-hong said, “Our determination to achieve performance through technology, rather than simply increasing hardware specifications, has resonated across borders. We will make the most of this opportunity by developing AI-based blocking and detection integrations with local equipment to ensure AI NDR establishes a strong foothold in Japan.”

Photo 3. SANDS Lab CEO Kim Ki-hong (center), PIOPLATFORM CEO Oh Ki-won (left) and PSI President Tozawa (right) pose after signing the agreement.