What stage does Cyberstarts invest at?

Cyberstarts invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C stages.

What sectors does Cyberstarts focus on?

Cyberstarts focuses on Cybersecurity.

Where is Cyberstarts located?

Cyberstarts is headquartered in Mikhmoret, US.

Does Cyberstarts lead rounds?

Cyberstarts typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.

Cyberstarts

Venture capitalActively deploying

Mikhmoret · Pre-Seed–Series C · 12 people tracked

Also known as Cyberstarts Liquidity · CYBERSTARTS VENTURE FUND LTD

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✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

Cyberstarts believes that entrepreneurs who have faced major challenges make the strongest founders. The firm applies a systematic process to uncover the most pressing and urgent problems in cybersecurity, then backs companies addressing them. A distinctive part of its model is an extensive network of CISOs, which portfolio companies leverage to reach rapid product-market fit and validate their solutions with real buyers early in their journey.

Invests inCybersecurity

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage

Pre-Seed–Series C

Mikhmoret, CA, US

Leads rounds

Follows

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2018

Private fund assets

$3.9B

VC funds

Tracked investments

Team · 12 people

from the firm's website & public directories

Dor Knafo· General Partner· Israelin

Dor Knafo, a former technical founder who took Axis Security to acquisition by HPE, brings founder/operator experience and makes instinct-driven bets on technical founders who make complex security feel simple.

Hila Zigman· General Partner· Israelin

Hila Zigman is a former founder and CPO who grew Noname Security to a $500M acquisition in four years and offers unusually recent, always-on support for hiring and product work.

Lior Simon· General Partner· Israelin

Lior Simon focuses on being the first investor in breakout Israeli cybersecurity founders, taking a hands-on role during critical moments and staying closely engaged through the October 2023 attacks.

Adam Aarons· Operating Partner

Dan Amiga· Investor· Israelin 𝕏

Dan Amiga is Co-Founder and CTO of Island. He previously founded and served as CTO of Fireglass, which Symantec acquired in 2017, and has been a founding investor in several security companies including Axis Security, Cycode, Build.Security, and ScaleOps. His background includes roles as chief software architect at Schneider Electric, work in security at Microsoft's Technology Center in Tel Aviv, and five years at Israel's 8200 unit developing security solutions; he has also taught advanced cloud computing at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel and spoken at industry conferences including RSA and Black Hat.

Gili Raanan· Founder· Israelin

Gili Raanan co-invented CAPTCHA and the first web application firewall, brings inventor-operator credibility to security founders, created the Sunrise methodology, and founded the first VC fund backed by cyber entrepreneurs.

Guy Guzner· Investor· Tel Aviv, Israelin

Guy Guzner is a senior director of product management at SailPoint with over 20 years of experience in network security products. He has led large engineering, security research, and product teams and directed product strategy and development for a security portfolio generating over $1.5 billion in annual revenues. His technical expertise spans firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, VPNs, content scanning, data loss prevention, and web application firewalls.

Jason Clark· Chairman of the CISO Advisory Board

Michael Kantarovich· Investor· Israelin

Michael Kantarovich is an entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of executive leadership experience. He founded multiple cybersecurity companies that were acquired by Zscaler, Forcepoint, and Imperva, and previously served as VP of Products at Imperva and held positions in product and R&D at the Israeli Air Force. His expertise spans product development, market analysis, and technology strategy.

Michael Shaulov· Investor· New York Cityin 𝕏

Michael Shaulov is CEO and co-founder of Fireblocks, an enterprise platform for digital asset custody, transfer, and issuance. The company provides financial institutions and other organizations with tools to manage blockchain-based assets while meeting security and regulatory requirements.

Pete Chronis· Operating Partner· Atlanta Metropolitan Areain

Pete Chronis is an Operating Partner at Cyberstarts with over 20 years of cybersecurity experience, including previous CISO roles at Paramount, WarnerMedia, Turner Broadcasting, and EarthLink. He serves on the boards of two cybersecurity startups and has mentored founders at Cyberstarts for nearly a decade. Chronis holds a Master's Degree from Georgia State University and is the author of three books on cybersecurity and data security topics.

Shirley Hermann· Vice President· Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israelin

What they invest in

from 22 of 37 portfolio companies

Cybersecurity ×17AI & Machine Learning ×13Enterprise Software ×10SaaS ×5Cloud Computing ×4Data & Infrastructure ×4Fintech ×4Crypto & Web3 ×2

HQs:United States×2

Investments · 37 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

Legit Securitylegitsecurity.comin 𝕏✓ verified

Legit Security provides an application security platform that helps organizations identify and manage software vulnerabilities and risks across their development environments.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareNot stated

Roni Fuchs(CEO & Co-Founder)inLiav Caspi(CTO & Co-Founder)inLior Barak(COO & Co-Founder)in

Vegavega.ioin✓ verified

Vega provides a security analytics platform for security operations teams that enables access to and analysis of security data across multiple storage locations without requiring data migration, using an AI-native approach to detection and investigation.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Shay SandlerinYonni ShelmerdineinOfir NirinMike DuonginEli RozeninHadas Ofirin

Zafran Securityzafran.ioin 𝕏✓ verified

Zafran provides threat exposure management and security orchestration for enterprises, helping security teams coordinate existing tools and identify real-world security gaps across complex hybrid environments.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Sanaz Yashar(Co-founder and CEO)in

A Security

Avaloravalor.ioin 𝕏

Avalor offers unified vulnerability management software that prioritizes security risks based on organizational context and automates remediation workflows across multiple data sources.

CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Axis

Axis Securityaxissecurity.com

Bionicbionic.aiin

Bionic provides application and cloud security visibility by analyzing runtime behavior, cloud service dependencies, and AI usage patterns to help organizations understand and prioritize application risks in their environment.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurity

Blockaid

Web3 security protecting users from fraud, phishing, and hacks.

Cyeracyera.comin 𝕏

Cyera is an AI-powered data security platform that helps organizations discover, classify, and secure their data across any environment.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & Infrastructure

Tamar Bar-Ilan(Founder)in

Cyeracyera.ioin 𝕏

Cyera is an AI-powered data security platform that discovers and monitors data attack surfaces to prevent data loss and security risks.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & Infrastructure

Dazzdazz.ioin

Dazz is an application security posture management platform that correlates data across the software development lifecycle to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities.

CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsSaaS

Merav Bahat(CEO & Co-founder)

Fireblocksfireblocks.ioin 𝕏

Fireblocks provides infrastructure for enterprises and startups to build, launch, and operate digital asset solutions.

Crypto & Web3Enterprise SoftwareFintech

Gambitgambit.usin 𝕏

Gambit builds an adaptive intelligence software platform for autonomous systems that enables teams to deploy and evolve autonomous behaviors across multiple hardware platforms.

AI & Machine LearningDefense TechRobotics

Glowglow.co

Glow offers workers' compensation and accident insurance for businesses, covering employees both at work and off-the-clock.

InsurTech

Glowglowing.com

Glow provides a suite of mobile applications for women's health tracking, including ovulation prediction, pregnancy monitoring, and baby health management.

FemTechHealthtechWellness & Fitness

Islandisland.ioin

Island provides a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) management platform for enterprises, enabling employees to securely use personal devices for work across all industries.

CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSDallas, US

Legit

Linx

Los Angeles, US

FRANCISCO LOPES(Director)FRANCISCO SCHMIDBERGER(Director)

Linx Securitylinx.securityin

Linx offers a unified platform that brings together security, governance, and access management to help organizations manage the full identity lifecycle.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Newcore

Noname Ia38K

Noname Securitynonamesecurity.com

Oasisoasis.securityin

Oasis Security provides management and security solutions for non-human identities across hybrid cloud environments.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Onyx Security

Savvysavvy.securityin 𝕏

SailPoint provides an identity and access governance platform that unifies identity, data, and security intelligence to assess risk and enforce least privilege across human, machine, and AI identities in real time.

CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise Software

Seedblockaid.ioin 𝕏

Surf Ai

Trail

Trailsecuritytrailsecurity.comin 𝕏

Trail Security offers Omni DLP, an AI-driven data loss prevention platform that correlates signals across email, cloud, and AI channels to pre-analyze alerts, prioritize insider-risk incidents, and automatically write, test, and tune policies.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityData & Infrastructure

Transmit Securitytransmitsecurity.comin 𝕏

Transmit Security provides a unified platform combining customer identity and access management with fraud prevention and identity verification.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityFintech

Trustdome

Trustmitrustmi.aiin

Trustmi detects and prevents fraud and payment errors in accounts payable and vendor workflows by correlating signals across enterprise systems in real time.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityFintech

Upwindupwind.ioin 𝕏

Upwind provides cloud and AI security for enterprises, offering real-time intelligence that correlates cloud inventory, posture, network topology, applications, and identities.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurity

VEGA Derivativesvega.xyz𝕏

Vega is a decentralized exchange protocol built on CometBFT proof-of-stake that enables programmable trading with public key cryptography and built-in governance for market creation.

Crypto & Web3Fintech

Wizwiz.ioin

Wiz provides cloud security platform that identifies and removes critical risks across multi-cloud environments.

Cloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Assaf Rappaport(CEO)in

Zafran

Threat exposure management platform that reveals, remediates and mitigates infrastructure risks.

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Cyberstarts invest at?: Cyberstarts invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C stages.
What sectors does Cyberstarts focus on?: Cyberstarts focuses on Cybersecurity.
Where is Cyberstarts located?: Cyberstarts is headquartered in Mikhmoret, US.
Does Cyberstarts lead rounds?: Cyberstarts typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Gili Raanan on the contrarian bet that built Cyberstarts

Sourcery with Molly O'Shea · Gili Raanan

“Don’t run after trends and buzzwords - it's fluff” | Lior Simon | Cyberstarts | CTech

CTech by Calcalist · Lior Simon

Cyberstarts' Gili Raanan on Cybersecurity, VC, & Identifying Customer Pain Points | Technovation 807

Metis Strategy · Gili Raanan

Gili Raanan, Founder, Cyberstarts joins TBPN from CYBERSPARX 2026

Cyberstarts

Images

Co-investors · 107

Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies, with a strong current focus on artificial intelligence.

Both backed · 8

Cyera Glow Island Oasis Wiz Zafran SecurityBlockaidZafran

$4.4M – $214M

Accel

Accel is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founding teams, positioning itself as a first partner to startups globally.

Both backed · 4

Cyera Oasis Vega VEGA Derivatives

$1.6M – $70M

Greylock Partners

Greylock Partners is a venture capital firm that backs founders at the earliest stages, often as their first investor before a product exists.

Both backed · 4

Dazz Upwind WizSeed

$100K – $200M

Index Ventures

Index Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs founders across the globe, investing in the people behind ideas from early through later stages.

Both backed · 3

Glow Linx Security Wiz

$540K – $10.8M

Spark Capital

Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that backs founders across technology and consumer companies; it notably led Twitter's Series B in 2008.

Both backed · 3

Cyera GambitAxis Security

$500K – $25M

CRV (Charles River Ventures)

CRV (Charles River Ventures) is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders at the seed and Series A stages, with a long history of investing since 1970.

Both backed · 3

Cyera Legit Security Vega

$250K – $5M

Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.

Both backed · 2

Glow Wiz

$500K – $50M

Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs from early stages through every stage of growth, publishing investment roadmaps across multiple technology sectors.

Both backed · 2

Legit Security Upwind

$5M – $100M

Redpoint Ventures

Redpoint Ventures is a venture capital firm established in 1999 by former partners from leading venture firms, focusing on early-stage technology companies across multiple sectors. The firm leverages its partners' technology investment experience and an extensive network of entrepreneurs and industry contacts to support portfolio company growth.

Both backed · 2

Cyera Vega

$100K – $10M

Evolution Equity Partners

Evolution Equity Partners is an international venture capital firm led by technology entrepreneurs, backing companies across stages from seed to growth with a focus on cybersecurity and software.

Both backed · 2

Cyera Island

$20M – $150M

GV (Google Ventures)

GV (formerly Google Ventures) is a venture investment firm that backs founders across many industries, aiming to build long-term relationships and support companies across multiple stages and milestones.

Both backed · 1

Blockaid

$250K – $50M

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm known for backing AI and technology founders, emphasizing deep, hands-on partnerships with the companies it funds.

Both backed · 1

Noname Security

$1.7M – $87M

▶95 more co-investors

Insight Partners Coatue Management Canaan Partners Sapphire Ventures Next47 TLV Partners Ten Eleven ForgePoint Capital Penny Jar Capital Venture Picture Capital Jibe Ventures Notable Capital Felicis Ventures Bain Capital Ventures Unknown Ventures IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Norwest Venture Partners Battery Ventures Mayfield Fund Liquid Ventures Accel-KKR Caffeinated Capital Lookout Ventures Acrew Capital Ribbit Capital Paradigm 2048 Ventures Accomplice Salesforce Japan Co.,Ltd.Unusual Ventures Entree Capital Haun Ventures boldstart ventures Tenaya Capital 23andMe Ballistic Ventures Viola Ventures Dnx Ventures Decibel Partners Mango Capital Recursive Ventures Team8 Z47 Zeev Ventures StageOne Ventures Greenoaks Graph Ventures Vertex Ventures Israel Conviction Verified Capital Glilot Capital Partners Amity Ventures GreatPoint Ventures GE Ventures Square Peg Capital Underscore VC Sorenson Ventures Blu Venture Investors S Capital AllegisCyber Capital Walden Catalyst Ventures Rembrandt Venture Partners Syngenta Group Ventures F2 Capital Okta Ventures Group 11 Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP)Shield Capital MizMaa Ventures Grove Ventures BlueYard Capital Castle Island Ventures 10D MoreVC Rabbit Ventures Technology Crossover Ventures YL Ventures Cardumen Capital CrowdStrike First Rays Venture Partners Darkmode Ventures Radian Capital Rain Capital Israel Growth Partners TPY Capital Fireblocks Red Dot Capital Partners Deep Insight Holly Ventures Fusion VC Carrick Capital Partners Fort Ross Ventures Amiti Ventures quadraScope Venture Fund Secret Chord Ventures

Firms observed investing alongside Cyberstarts, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Cyberstarts's recorded portfolio.

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