Cybersecurity Giant Wiz Expands Its Portfolio with Acquisition of Israeli Start-up Raftt

In a strategic move to enhance its capabilities in the cyber realm, leading cybersecurity company Wiz has successfully acquired the Israeli start-up Raftt. The deal, valued at an estimated tens of millions of dollars, comes four years after Wiz's establishment, marking a significant step in the company's growth trajectory.

Raftt, founded in 2020 and backed by a $5 million investment from the Aleph Foundation, developed a cutting-edge cloud platform designed to foster collaboration among developers. The platform facilitates the creation and sharing of user-friendly development environments, streamlining collaboration between developers and various organizational departments. Notably, Raftt's platform adapts DevOps infrastructures to meet the specific needs of developers.

Wiz, having raised an impressive $900 million at a valuation of $10 billion, boasts a reported sales volume (ARR) exceeding $250 million. The acquisition of Raftt is expected to bring between ten and twenty of Raftt's skilled employees into Wiz's research and development teams based in Israel.

Ami Lutbek, co-founder and CTO of Wiz, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, emphasizing the company's commitment to absorbing all of Raftt's employees. Lutbek acknowledged the challenging environment, stating, "This is a challenging time to combine work and purchases," but emphasized the importance of moving forward despite external factors, including ongoing conflicts.

Speaking on the acquisition, Lutbek highlighted Raftt's deep technology for developers, identifying the synergy between cloud security and the developer experience as a critical challenge in the cybersecurity domain. The goal, according to Lutbek, is to swiftly integrate Raftt's capabilities, leveraging their expertise to release a groundbreaking product within the next few months.

With over 850 employees, more than half of whom are based outside Israel, Wiz is keen on maintaining business continuity and providing uninterrupted service to its global customer base. Lutbek sees the Raftt acquisition as a means to strengthen Wiz's position in the market, particularly in catering to the needs of developers.

Raftt, founded by Roi Yerachi and Gal Sharaf, both former senior developers with military service backgrounds, brings a wealth of experience to Wiz. Roi Yerachi, the CEO of Raftt, expressed excitement about joining Wiz, stating, "The offer to be part of Wiz is an opportunity we couldn't pass up." The Raftt team's expertise in enhancing the user experience for development teams aligns seamlessly with Wiz's mission to redefine cloud security.

As Wiz continues to evolve, the integration of Raftt's technology is anticipated to refine the platform's value proposition for developers, allowing security and development professionals to optimize processes and build securely throughout the software development lifecycle. The acquisition signifies a significant step forward for Wiz in its quest to revolutionize the landscape of cloud security.