Marius Nacht
Israeli co-founder of Check Point Software Technologies and health-tech investor
| Marius Nacht
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 Romania |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur; investor |
| Known for | Co-founder and former chairman of Check Point Software Technologies; co-founder of aMoon |
| Education | BSc Physics and Mathematics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; MSc Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University |
Marius Nacht (born 1962) is an Israeli entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Check Point Software Technologies in 1993 with Gil Shwed and Shlomo Kramer. He is a graduate of Talpiot, the Israel Defense Forces' elite science and technology training programme. He was Check Point's vice-chairman from 2001 and non-executive chairman from 2015 until 2020. In 2016 he co-founded the health-tech venture fund aMoon.[1][2]
Early life and military service
Ctech reports that Nacht was born in Romania in 1962, moved to Israel with his family aged three, and grew up in Ashkelon. He served in Talpiot, "an elite IDF training program for recruits who have demonstrated outstanding academic ability in the sciences". He holds a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree in electrical engineering and communication systems from Tel Aviv University.[1][2]
Talpiot is a separate programme from Unit 8200. Globes wrote in 2024 that Check Point was founded by Shwed, Kramer and Nacht, "all of whom had served in the 8200 unit".[3] Nacht's own biographies name only Talpiot.
Check Point
According to Ctech, Nacht met Gil Shwed in 1990 while working as a software developer at Orbotech. Three years later he, Shwed and Shlomo Kramer founded Check Point Software Technologies.[1] Forbes says he "wrote the original code" for the company, which made him and Shwed billionaires.[4] He was vice-chairman from 2001, non-executive chairman from September 2015, and announced his retirement in 2020 after 27 years with the company.[2][1]
Investments
In 2016 Nacht co-founded the biomedical fund aMoon with Dr Yair Schindel. Ctech reports that it raised $300 million in 2016, $750 million in 2019 and $100 million in 2021, and invested in about forty life-sciences companies. The same report says Nacht later fell out with the fund's executives and moved to private investing.[1] Forbes lists early-stage security investments including LightCyber, SafeDK, Secdo and RapidAPI.[4]
See also
- Check Point Software Technologies
- Gil Shwed
- Shlomo Kramer
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Meir Orbach and Diana Bahur Nir, Marius Nacht: "I won't have another success in high-tech like Check Point, but in bio" Ctech, 25 April 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 aMoon, Marius Nacht aMoon, accessed 19 October 2026.
- ↑ Assaf Gilead, Check Point names Nadav Zafrir next CEO Globes, 24 July 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Marius Nacht Forbes, last updated 10 March 2026.