Cyberstarts
Israeli cyber-security venture capital fund founded by Unit 8200 alumnus Gili Raanan
| Cyberstarts
| |
|---|---|
| Logo | 
|
| Type | Venture capital fund |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder(s) | Gili Raanan |
| Industry | Venture capital (cyber security) |
| Homepage | cyberstarts.com |
Cyberstarts is a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage cyber-security companies. It was founded in 2018 by Gili Raanan, whom Ctech describes as "an alumnus of the elite Israeli military intelligence unit 8200".[1][2] Ctech reported in June 2024 that the fund had "a portfolio of only 22 companies whose combined value is $35 billion", including five unicorns, "first and foremost Wiz".[2]
Unit 8200 links
Ctech reported that a Cyberstarts partner would take "the emerging team, usually a group of fresh graduates from the elite Israeli military intelligence units 8200 or 81", to meet a corporate chief information security officer (CISO).[2] Its founder Gili Raanan is a Unit 8200 alumnus.[2]
People
The Cyberstarts website lists its team as Gili Raanan, Lior Simon, Pete Chronis, Hila Zigman, Adam Aarons and Dor Knafo.[1] Ctech described Zigman as a former senior executive of the portfolio company Noname Security.[2]
Portfolio
The fund's website lists Wiz, Cyera, Island and Fireblocks as companies it "partnered" with "on Day 1".[1] Ctech listed Cyberstarts among the investors in Noname Security.[3] Other Powerbase pages that record Cyberstarts investments are Axis Security, Cyera, Island and Zafran Security.
Sunrise programme
In June 2024 Ctech reported that CISOs who advised Cyberstarts' portfolio companies through its "Sunrise" programme earned points "equal to percentages in the fund", up to "4% of a GP", which paid out cash at liquidity events. The paper said it had seen "an Excel file with a list of 82 CISOs" and their payments. Recipients of letters from Gili Raanan said "the mutual oral understanding is that the progress in accumulating points also involves purchases". Cyberstarts "vehemently denies" this, and Raanan said: "No CISO has ever received compensation for purchasing products."[2]
In October 2024 Ctech reported, citing a Forbes investigation, that Raanan had written to 75 CISOs on 27 June 2024: "Cynical allegations about ethical problems in the Sunrise program have forced us to suspend payments within the program. To be perfectly clear, the Sunrise program is not going anywhere."[4]
See also
- Gili Raanan
- Unit 8200
- Team8
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cyberstarts, Cyberstarts Cyberstarts (Cyberstarts-side), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Sophie Shulman and Meir Orbach, The Gili Ra’anan model: Questions emerging from Cyberstarts' remarkable success Ctech, 13 June 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Meir Orbach, Akamai acquiring cyber startup Noname Security for $450 million Ctech, 7 May 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Sophie Shulman and Meir Orbach, Gili Raanan’s Sunrise payments model suspended as CISOs question ethics Ctech, 28 October 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.