Amir Zilberstein
Israeli cyber-security entrepreneur and investor; former head of a research team in an "elite cyber unit" of the IDF; co-founder of Gita Technologies, Waterfall Security Solutions and Claroty, and managing partner at Team8
| Amir Zilberstein
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Zilberstein, from his Team8 profile |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur; venture investor |
| Known for | Co-founder of Gita Technologies, Waterfall Security Solutions and Claroty; managing partner at Team8 |
| Education | Bar-Ilan University (BSc, computer science and mathematics; MSc, computer science) |
Amir Zilberstein is an Israeli cyber-security entrepreneur and venture investor. Before going into business he led researchers and developers in what his biographies call an "elite cyber unit" of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).[1] He co-founded the signals-intelligence and cyber company Gita Technologies, the industrial security company Waterfall Security Solutions and the industrial cyber-security company Claroty, and is a managing partner at the Israeli cyber-security venture group Team8.[2][3]
Military service
Zilberstein's military service is described in slightly different words in different biographies:
- A Team8 biography says that before co-founding Gita "he managed a team of exceptional researchers and developers in an elite cyber unit of the Israeli Defense Force".[1] The same wording appears on Claroty's leadership page.[4]
- His current Team8 profile says that he "managed a team of high-level researchers and developers in an elite IDF cyber unit".[3]
- A speaker biography on the website of Economist Conferences in Greece says that "Prior to his career as an entrepreneur and investor, Amir managed a research and development department in an elite cybersecurity unit of the Israel Defense Force".[5]
- Claroty's launch announcement in 2016 said that "Earlier in his career, he managed a team of cybersecurity researchers and developers within the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)".[6]
None of these sources names the unit.
According to his Team8 biographies he holds a BSc in computer science and mathematics and an MSc in computer science from Bar-Ilan University, and is the inventor on more than ten patents, most of them in cyber security.[1][3]
Gita Technologies and Waterfall
The Israeli business database IVC names Zilberstein, Lior Frenkel and Asher Baharav as the co-founders of Gita Technologies, and lists Waterfall Security Solutions as a spin-off of Gita.[2] IVC describes Gita as working in signals intelligence (SIGINT, COMINT and OSINT), with technology for "real-time interception, location finding, cyber warfare" for "government agencies and high-end enterprises worldwide".[2] His current Team8 profile calls Gita "a high-end cyber and intelligence R&D firm"; the Economist Conferences biography calls it "a cybersecurity company in the government space" and says that it "was acquired by Verint Systems in 2015" (Verint).[3][5] Co-founder Lior Frenkel has said that Gita "dealt with offensive cyber warfare".[7]
Team8 describes Waterfall as "a manufacturer of high-end security gateways for the critical infrastructure markets".[1] The Economist Conferences biography says that Zilberstein has served as chief executive, chairman and board member of several companies, including Claroty, Waterfall and Gita.[5]
Claroty and Team8
Claroty was set up within Team8, the venture group founded by former Unit 8200 commander Nadav Zafrir. When it came out of stealth in September 2016 with $32 million in funding, its announcement named Zilberstein as co-founder and chief executive, and said that Zafrir, as Claroty's president, had worked with the founders "to recruit a cybersecurity research team that comprises the 'top 1% of the 1%' from a special IDF cyberunit". The release described Zafrir as "the former Head of Unit 8200 (Israel's NSA)".[6] A Team8 biography last updated in September 2025 called Zilberstein "Chairman, Claroty"; Claroty's leadership page in November 2026 listed him as "Director & Co-founder".[1][4]
According to the Economist Conferences biography, he joined Team8 in 2020 to lead its Team8 Enterprise fund, and sits on the boards of Claroty, IVIX, OX Security and Orchid Security.[5] His current Team8 profile describes him as a managing partner "where he builds and invests in Cyber and Software Infra businesses".[3]
| Company | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gita Technologies | Co-founder | [2][1] |
| Waterfall Security Solutions | Co-founder | [1][6] |
| Claroty | Co-founder; chief executive at launch (2016); later chairman; director | [6][1][4] |
| Team8 | Managing partner (Team8 Enterprise, from 2020) | [5][3] |
| IVIX, OX Security, Orchid Security | Board member | [5] |
See also
- Gita Technologies
- Lior Frenkel
- Asher Baharav
- Claroty
- Team8
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Team8, Amir Zilberstein Team8, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 IVC Research Center, Gita Technologies Ltd. IVC-Online, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Team8, Amir Zilberstein Team8, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Claroty, Claroty's Leadership Team Claroty, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Hazlis Economist, Amir Zilberstein Economist Conferences – Greece, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Claroty, Claroty Exits Stealth with $32 Million in Funding to Protect Industrial Networks Claroty (press release), 13 September 2016, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Techtime, Cyber protection for Tel Aviv Wastewater Treatment Plant Techtime, 19 July 2020, accessed 10 November 2026.