Israeli cyber investors stand to gain billions from Google’s $33 billion deal to acquire Wiz, underscoring the deep and interconnected network of Israeli cybersecurity pioneers.
Nir Zuk, founder of Palo Alto Networks, currently the world’s largest cybersecurity company, stands out among the Israeli investors poised to profit from Google’s acquisition of Wiz.
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Nir Zuk
(Photo: Ryan Prois)
Zuk is a minority investor (LP) in Cyberstarts, the venture capital fund established by Gili Raanan, which was among Wiz’s earliest backers. According to unofficial estimates, Cyberstarts holds a 4% stake in Wiz, now valued at $900 million — despite selling half of its holding to investment firm Blackstone in 2021.
Ironically, Palo Alto Networks is one of Wiz’s main competitors. Zuk, who certainly doesn’t need this exit to increase his wealth, stands to gain twice: both personally through his investment in Cyberstarts, and strategically by eliminating a major rival. Wiz’s technology will be integrated into Google Cloud’s offerings, removing it as a direct competitor to Palo Alto.
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Shlomo Kramer
(Photo: Amit Shaal)
Shlomo Kramer, another veteran of Israel’s cybersecurity scene, co-founded Check Point alongside Gil Shwed and Marius Nacht, later founding Imperva – which was also sold, and then Cato Networks. Kramer is also a private investor in Cyberstarts and is expected to reap a rapid return on his investment.
Mickey Boodaei, one of Israel’s most successful cybersecurity entrepreneurs and investors, co-founded Trusteer, which was acquired by IBM for over $600 million, and now leads Transmit Security, a unicorn in the identity and access management sector. Boodaei, known for his savvy independent investments, is also an investor in Cyberstarts and will benefit from the fund’s massive windfall from Wiz.
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Mickey Boodaei
(Photo: Amit Shaal)
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Yevgeny Dibrov
(Photo: Diana Bahur-Nir)
Yevgeny Dibrov, co-founder and CEO of Armis, is a longtime friend of Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport from their service in Israel’s elite Unit 81 intelligence corps. Rappaport led Dibrov’s team and later recruited him as one of the first employees at Adallom, the startup Wiz’s founders sold to Microsoft for $320 million. Dibrov invested in Wiz directly in one of its funding rounds and through Cyberstarts, giving him a double payday.
Marius Nacht, the third co-founder of Check Point, has largely stepped back from cybersecurity in recent years, focusing his fortune on life sciences and, initially, on the digital bank he co-founded with Amnon Shashua and from which he later exited. Nacht founded the aMoon venture capital fund, specializing in health care investments, but maintained ties to cybersecurity through a personal investment in Cyberstarts.
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Merav Bahat
(Photo: Nathaniel Tobias)
Merav Bahat, founder and CEO of Dazz, previously co-led Microsoft’s cybersecurity operations with Rappaport. It’s believed she made an early direct investment in Wiz and is set to earn millions of dollars from the deal.
Nadir Izrael and Michael Shaulov are also prominent names in Israel’s cybersecurity community profiting from the deal, as members of Gili Raanan’s investor network. Izrael co-founded Armis with Dibrov and invested in Cyberstarts.
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Omri Casspi
(Photo: Hagai Michaeli)
Amichai Shulman, a co-founder of Imperva alongside Kramer, left the company shortly after its acquisition and has since become an active investor. He is also an investor in Cyberstarts.
Omri Casspi, the former NBA player, made one of his first forays into tech investing by joining Cyberstarts and now stands to benefit from the exceptional return the fund will see from Wiz’s sale.
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