Highlights:
- Wiz provides a software platform designed to assist companies in identifying vulnerabilities and malicious activities within their cloud infrastructure across various domains, including network, identity, compute, application, and secrets.
- Wiz made headlines most recently in December when it revealed its inaugural acquisition, acquiring fellow Israeli cybersecurity firm and Kubernetes security company Raftt Systems Ltd.
Cloud security startup Wiz Inc. is purportedly in discussions to secure USD 800 million in new funding, with a valuation expected to exceed USD 10 billion.
The news was first reported by The Financial Times, referencing “people familiar with the matter,” stating that Wiz is in discussions with investors, including Thrive Capital Partners LP, Light Speed Venture Partners LP, and G Squared LP. Sequoia Capital Operations LLC and Cyberstarts Inc. were reportedly discussing participating in the funding round.
The report also mentioned that while discussions are underway, the terms have not been finalized, and there’s a possibility that details could shift or the deal could break down.
Wiz initially emerged in December 2020 with an initial new funding of USD 100 million. Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica, and Roy Reznik founded the company. They are former leads of Microsoft’s Cloud Security Group and the founding team of Adallo Inc., a cybersecurity startup that was acquired by Microsoft for USD 320 million in 2015.
Wiz provides a software platform designed to assist companies in identifying vulnerabilities and malicious activities within their cloud infrastructure across various domains, including network, identity, compute, application, and secrets. The platform consolidates all pertinent information into a single interface, enabling quick insights and facilitating informed decision-making, regardless of scale.
By utilizing a risk-weighted view, the service enables users to evaluate misconfigurations and vulnerabilities in terms of their business impact, exposure, exploitability, severity, and potential for exposure. Cloud security startup Wiz’s platform offers support for a range of cloud environments, including Amazon Web Services Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Kubernetes application programming interfaces (APIs).
Wiz made headlines most recently in December when it revealed its inaugural acquisition, acquiring fellow Israeli cybersecurity firm and Kubernetes security company Raftt Systems Ltd. While the specific price of the acquisition was not disclosed, it’s noted that Raftt Systems Ltd. had an estimated value ranging between USD 40 million to USD 50 million before its acquisition by Wiz.
Despite reported robust growth, with the Financial Times stating that Wiz generates USD 350 million in annual recurring revenue, the company has faced challenges, notably a lawsuit filed by Orca Security Ltd. in July, alleging patent infringement by Wiz.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, asserts that Wiz constructed its business using the infrastructure that Orca had initially developed. The lawsuit requests that Wiz cease all sales of its products and services that violate Orca’s intellectual property and compensate the company monetarily for the use of its patents.
In the lawsuit, Orca stated that “Wiz recruited Ora’s former patent attorney to copy Orca’s intellectual property and even the figures from Orca’s patents. Wiz has embedded a number of revolutionary inventions developed and patented by Orca, passed those inventions off falsely as Wiz innovations, and forced Orca to compete against its own technological breakthroughs in the marketplace.”
According to the lawsuit, Wiz’s acts were “illegal, unjust, and in violation of United States patent laws.” The case is still pending.