In the cutthroat world of cloud data protection, where SaaS sprawl threatens enterprise resilience, Keepit is betting big on artificial intelligence to outpace rivals. The Danish backup specialist, known for its self-hosted, vendor-independent approach, unveiled plans this week to use AI for rapidly expanding its library of SaaS app connectors. This move aims to shield customer data across hundreds of applications by 2028, starting from a modest base of seven in 2025.

Keepit’s strategy hinges on an AI-driven automation engine that generates connectors for new SaaS apps without the traditional months-long manual coding. ‘We’re leveraging AI to dramatically accelerate our connector development,’ said Jakob Østergaard, Keepit’s CTO, in an interview with Blocks and Files. This comes as enterprises grapple with the reality that SaaS providers like Microsoft and Salesforce rarely guarantee data backups, leaving customers exposed to outages, ransomware, and vendor lock-in.

The announcement, detailed in a Blocks and Files article published November 21, 2025, positions Keepit against competitors like HYCU, which reached 50 connectors by late 2023 using generative AI from Anthropic’s Claude model, per Blocks and Files.

From Niche Player to SaaS Backup Contender

Founded over 20 years ago, Keepit has quietly built a fortress of private datacenters, eschewing public cloud dependencies that plague rivals. Its platform stores all backups on a single tier of high-performance disk, avoiding slower archive tiers, as noted in a February 2024 Blocks and Files profile. This architecture supports immutable, air-gapped backups hardened against cyber threats.

In April 2025, Keepit outlined its roadmap: scaling from seven connectors in 2025—covering Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, and others—to hundreds by 2028. Østergaard explained the challenge: ‘Each SaaS app has unique APIs, authentication, and data structures,’ requiring custom code per Blocks and Files. Manual development couldn’t match the pace of SaaS proliferation, where thousands of apps emerge annually.

Enter AI. Keepit’s engine analyzes app APIs, schemas, and documentation to auto-generate connector code, test it, and deploy. This mirrors HYCU’s January 2024 launch of a ‘builder bot’ for custom protections, which hit 50 connectors swiftly, according to Blocks and Files.

Funding Fuels Aggressive Expansion

A $50 million equity round in December 2024 supercharged Keepit’s growth, targeting self-hosted SaaS backup infrastructure, as reported by Blocks and Files. The funds support datacenter expansions and AI R&D, with recent additions like Atlassian and Okta support announced in May 2025 by Computer Weekly.

Keepit’s pitch resonates amid rising SaaS risks. A 2024 Veeam report highlighted that 94% of organizations faced SaaS outages, yet only 43% backed up all apps. Keepit addresses this with rapid restores, intelligent automation for RPOs and RTOs, and a threat library, per Computer Weekly.

Unlike cloud-native rivals, Keepit’s dedicated cloud—spanning Europe and North America—ensures sovereignty and performance. ‘We own the full stack,’ Østergaard told Blocks and Files, emphasizing blockchain for integrity verification.

AI Under the Hood: How Connectors Scale

Keepit’s AI pipeline ingests public API docs, OAuth flows, and data models to produce production-ready connectors. Early tests cover niche apps unprotected by majors, accelerating beyond the initial seven. This builds on May 2024 promises of market dominance, where Keepit touted 100% recovery SLAs, per Blocks and Files.

Challenges persist: AI hallucinations could yield buggy code, and evolving APIs demand retraining. Keepit mitigates with human oversight and rigorous testing. Competitors like HYCU faced similar hurdles but proved the model, scaling to 50+ connectors.

By June 2025, Keepit featured in storage news tickers alongside Hitachi Vantara and Micron, signaling broader industry traction, as per Blocks and Files. Its website claims cost-effectiveness with 20+ years of experience.

Enterprise Implications and Rival Pressure

For CIOs, Keepit’s AI scale means future-proofing against SaaS chaos. March 2024 expansions targeted unprotected apps, enabling quick data source additions, according to Computer Weekly. April 2025 plans eyed hundreds more, per Blocks and Files.

Rivals watch closely. HYCU’s AI bot set a benchmark; Keepit aims to leapfrog with self-hosted purity. No recent X posts from @keepit or @blocksnfiles detail further updates as of November 21, 2025, but momentum builds.

Keepit’s trajectory underscores a shift: AI isn’t just hype—it’s the engine propelling data protection into the SaaS multiverse, ensuring enterprises retain control over their digital lifelines.