Company Overview
CloudMosa was founded in 2009 by Dr. Shioupyn Shen, a Google old-timer. Puffin was a moonshot project for a new web browser architecture that split a browser into two halves – the 1st half handles Display Rasterization on the client side, and the 2nd half handles HTML Rendering on the server side. Puffin was launched in 2010 as the first web browser based on Network Vector Rendering (NVR) with built-in Remote Browser Isolation (RBI).
The original goal was to future-proof the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Display rasterization is very lean and mean, accounting for only 5% of the total workload, while HTML rendering requires massive computing resources, accounting for 95%. The concept was too radical to be viable at the time, and Dr. Shen chose to leave Google and pursue this impossible mission with his Google IPO money. After all, You Only Live Once (YOLO).
Puffin was an instant hit on iOS and Android as a full-featured desktop browser on mobile platforms. Over the years, the total downloads have surpassed 200M. Puffin delivered NVR and RBI nearly a decade before followers coined the terms. Puffin can neutralize Zero-Day viruses before they are conceived. Puffin has never been compromised by any virus in its 15 years in business.
Products and Solutions
CloudMosa’s core technology is Half Browser, also known as Remote Browser, Cloud Browser, or Cloud Rendering. The Half Browser technology is the common root of its three core business units – Puffin Cloud Browser, Puffin Cloud Security, and Puffin Cloud Phone.
| Business Units | Main Platforms | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Puffin Cloud Browser | Desktop Browser on Mobile Phone | Wicked Fast Full Browser |
| Puffin Cloud Security | Secure Browser on All Devices | 100% Zero-Day Virus-Proof |
| Puffin Cloud Phone | Virtual Phone on 4G Feature Phone | Digital Inclusion for All |
Puffin Cloud Browser is designed for mobile users and offers superb desktop functionality. Puffin Cloud Security is designed for desktop users (prosumers and enterprise users), offering affordable, speedy RBI. Puffin Cloud Phone is designed for “the last billion” mobile users, offering modern Internet access on $12 feature phones. Can you imagine Puffin running modern Chrome on devices with only 16MB of RAM?
Zoom in on Cybersecurity: Half Browser is effectively a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), except that the only app running on the VDI server is a web browser. The web browser is the de facto operating system, and the apps are either web applications on the web server or browser extensions on the web browser. The client-side Display Rasterization wouldn’t be susceptible to viruses, whereas the server-side HTML rendering could be.
VDI is a Swiss Army Knife solution for Cybersecurity. In the “Proxy” mode, it can protect VDI clients as a Secure Web Gateway (SWG) or RBI. In the “Reverse Proxy” mode, it can safeguard web applications or browser extensions. It can implement Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA) or host Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and Enterprise Browser on VDI servers.
| VDI Isolation Mode | Parties to Protect / Restrict | Security Product Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Client Isolation | Web Clients, Endpoints | SWG, RBI |
| Server Isolation | Web Servers, Policies & Data | CASB, Enterprise Browser |
| Access Isolation | Privileged Networks & Services | ZTNA, BYOD, Jump Box |
| Agent Isolation | AI Agents, AI Prompts, AI DLP | Trust, but Verify |
Key Differentiators
AI creates a perfect storm in Cybersecurity. Half Browser is not just a product for RBI. Instead, it is a platform that simplifies and fortifies security architecture in the age of AI hacking.
AI, as an adversary, can relentlessly probe and exploit security vulnerabilities, amplifying the risks on an unprecedented scale. VDI is inherently simple and rigid. It is exceptionally effective at defending its digital attack surface against AI-driven threats, such as Anthropic Mythos.
VDI, safer and more versatile than most security solutions, has earned a reputation as the Gold Standard in security architecture. Historically, VDI adoption has been limited by its high cost and low performance. The gold standard is as expensive as it sounds.
CloudMosa is a game-changer. With Half Browser as the next-generation VDI implementation, VDI can be very low-cost and high-performance.
| Technology | Strength in Security | Comparing the Differences | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| VDI | Robust and Versatile | High Cost & Low Performance | Limited Adoption |
| Half Browser | As Good As VDI | Low Cost & High Performance | Game-Changer |
CEO BIO
Dr. Shen is a veteran Software Engineer at Google and Microsoft with over 30 years of experience in distributed systems and enterprise software. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA, an MS in Computer Science from UW–Madison, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University.