Just three months after emerging from stealth mode and raising USD 100 million, Israeli startup Wiz closed a funding round with USD 130 million and a company valuation of USD 1.7 billion, Hebrew-language media reported this week.
The startup was founded in January 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, the former general manager of R&D at Microsoft Israel, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak, and Roy Reznik. This is the same team that founded cloud security firm Adallom, which was sold to Microsoft in 2015, and Microsoft’s Cloud Security Group.
Wiz was set up to help companies secure their cloud infrastructure at scale through a contextual risk assessment and clear action plan.
The team’s experience working with customers as a cloud platform vendor at Microsoft, combined with their past experience as entrepreneurs, has helped them build a cloud-native security product already used by paying customers, including Fortune 100 companies.
The startup says its unique architecture allows for seamless scanning of a given organization’s entire cloud environment across all computer types and cloud services for vulnerabilities, configuration, network, and identity issues without agents or sidecars.
“When our founding team was leading the Microsoft Cloud Security Group, we saw firsthand how security teams struggled with the complexity of existing approaches to securing the cloud,” Rappaport said in December.
“We knew that by embracing a cloud-native approach, we could make a product that is simple to deploy and scale, allowing security teams to focus on real risks. We’re excited to partner with such an experienced and well-respected team of investors again as we look to accelerate our growth in 2021, and meet the market demand for an elegant cloud security platform that works,” he explained.
The new funding round was raised mainly with existing backers Index Ventures, Sequoia, Insight Partners, and Cyberstarts. It includes new undisclosed investors, CTech by Calcalist reported on Wednesday.
The publication noted that Wiz, which is just over a year old, may be the fastest Israeli company to reach unicorn status at a valuation of USD 1 billion or more, and the fastest-growing Israeli cybersecurity company.