In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray talks with Hubbert Smith, CEO and co-founder of I4Ops, about building sovereign AI systems that provably protect data. Smith traces his path from studying electrical engineering at Auburn University to working at Eastman Kodak, Intel, and Western Digital, where he helped develop Serial ATA and supplied drives for the original Gmail rollout. He explains how a customer's simple question, how do I know my data will not walk away, led him to found I4Ops and reframe data protection as an engineering problem: prevent data breach, including by valid users. Smith describes validating the market through 200 customer conversations and shares why data security is fundamentally a data storage problem solved at the kernel level rather than through networking. The conversation closes with his philosophy on leadership, rooted in humans' primitive needs to survive, belong, and grow, and how mentoring can build healthier workplaces. Sunny and Hubbert agree to continue the conversation in a follow up episode.
I4Ops founder Hubbert Smith explains why data security is really a storage problem, not a network one.
What does I4Ops do?
We do sovereign AI and we protect data provably. About five years ago I was running a data science project and a customer handed us eight years of sales records, then asked how they could be sure the data would not walk away. I had no good answer. That gave me a problem to solve, and it became the origin of I4Ops: prevent data breach, including from valid users.
What originally drew you to electrical engineering?
Before I declared a major I was doing sound for a band and got captivated by acoustics. I wanted a degree in acoustic engineering to design theaters and stadiums, but no such program existed. The closest was electrical engineering, so that is what I studied at Auburn. I later worked my way through school doing electrical design for buildings, power, HVAC, security, fire alarm systems and more.
Did you work at Intel?
I did. Around 2003 I was part of the team that changed how disc drives connect to computers, moving from the old parallel ATA ribbon cable to Serial ATA, a simple transmit and receive pair like Ethernet. Amber and Canoot led that effort and deserve full credit, but being part of it taught me how disruptive technology reshapes an industry.
What happened after Intel, at Western Digital?
I joined WD to help push Serial ATA into enterprise and data center drives. WD was about a two billion dollar company with only desktop drives at the time. We built high capacity, good enough performance drives that ended up powering the original Gmail rollout, over 100,000 drives on one purchase order. It showed me how finding an underserved market can transform a business.
How did you validate that data theft was a real problem worth solving?
I had about 200 validation conversations with people who use contractors for data science. Nearly all said external talent causes delays, that the problem is chronic and ubiquitous, and that their current fix, mostly NDAs and monitoring or physical security, left them unsatisfied. That consistent dissatisfaction confirmed there was a real underserved market to build for.
How does I4Ops actually solve the data security problem?
We took a first principles approach, throwing out existing assumptions like network firewalls and starting from the most atomic level. What we found is that big data security is not really a networking problem, it is a data storage problem, and we solve it at the kernel level. We wrap that into secure workspaces using Kubernetes and virtual machines running our kernel module.
Where can people learn more about the company and you?
I4Ops dot AI is the company website, that is a good starting point and you can find my contact information there. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
Any closing thoughts on building healthy teams?
People bring primitive wiring into the workplace, the need to survive, to belong, and to grow. Telling someone they are wrong triggers a fight or flight response, so I try to frame issues as a shared problem instead. Fostering belonging and offering simple mentoring, sharing relevant experience without being preachy, helps people grow and creates a healthier workspace overall.
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