Huge purchase: Salesforce buys the Israeli unicorn Own for $1.9 billion

Posted on Sep 5, 2024 by Ifi Reporter - Dan Bielski

Huge purchase: Salesforce buys the Israeli unicorn Own (formerly OwnBackup), which specializes in backing up cloud systems, for $1.9 billion. This is a cash transaction.
The Israeli company was founded in 2015 by Ariel Berkman, Daniel Gershoni and Eran Cohen.

The company has raised about half a billion dollars to date and was valued in the last fundraising at 3.3 billion dollars at the peak of the bubble in 2021. About two years ago, it announced the layoff of 150 employees - about a tenth of its workforce. Beyond the founders, the biggest beneficiaries of the deal are the Israeli Vertex fund and the American fund's Insight, Blackrock, and Tiger Global.
For Salesforce, which is engaged in the development of corporate information systems and currently trades at a value of 235 billion dollars, this is the largest purchase since Slack in 2021, at 28 billion dollars. Salesforce already knows the Israeli company well and even owned 10% of its shares.
Own's solutions allow managing, saving and backing up information in a secure way, mainly for Salesforce applications and activities.
Despite the big deal, for the investors who entered only in Own's last fundraising round in August 2021, this is a negative return. In the same year, the company completed two large fundraising rounds a few months apart and the value jumped from 1.4 billion dollars to 3.3 billion dollars, and this in just six months. The company's employees had time to meet with the money at a record value, as the latest fundraising included a share sale component by the employees for approximately $25 million or 10% of the fundraising.


ABOUT IFI TODAY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum

Newsline

El Al Appoints Levi Halevi as New CEO; CFO Yaakov Shahar to Retire

Sep 20, 2026 by Ifi Reporter - Dan Bielski

El Al Israel Airlines announced a major leadership transition this afternoon, with the appointment of Levi Halevi as the airline’s new Chief Executive Officer . The decision was made by El Al’s Board of Directors , following the recommendation of a search committee... Continue reading →

New Jersey Alleges $122 Million Fraud by El Al Controlling Shareholder in U.S. Nursing Homes

Dec 11, 2025 by Ifi Reporter - Dan Bielski

A report by the New Jersey State Comptroller has accused Kenny Rosenberg , the controlling shareholder of El Al Airlines (48%) , and his business partner Darryl Hagler of orchestrating a large-scale fraud scheme involving nursing homes under their ownership in the United States. The... Continue reading →

Israel Mandates Solar Panels on New Homes in Landmark Renewable Energy Reform

Dec 11, 2025 by Ifi Reporter - Dan Bielski

Israel is set to implement one of its most significant renewable energy reforms to date, as a new Ministry of Energy regulation will require solar energy systems on the roofs of all newly built homes with roof areas exceeding 100 square meters. The regulation comes into force on December 12,... Continue reading →


Testimonials

No testimonials. Click here to add your testimonials.