Education and Career

Gili Raanan is the founder of early-stage venture capital firm, Cyberstarts. Cyberstarts is dedicated to supporting and developing the next generation of cybersecurity companies. Since launching the fund in 2018, Raanan’s Cyberstarts has raised more than $720 million across five funds, with a portfolio that represents over $55 billion in valuation.

Cybersecurity has been at the center of Raanan’s entire career. He began his professional journey in Israeli’s intelligence division, Unit 8200. During his service, he received both the Israel Defense Presidential Prize and the Israeli Intelligence Forces Innovation Award.

Following his military career, Raanan transitioned into entrepreneurship and in 1997, he founded Sanctum, where he developed web app security solutions, AppShield and AppScan. These technologies helped shape what would become the web application firewall (WAF) space. Sanctum, in addition to a second company he founded Two of his companies were later acquired by EMC and IBM.

In 2009, Raanan joined Sequoia Capital as a General Partner, where he led the firm’s efforts in cybersecurity and technology investments in Israel. Earlier in his investment career, he also spent time at Gemini Venture Partners, which marked his initial shift from operator to investor. After nearly nine years, Raanan left Sequoia to launch Cyberstarts.

Cyberstarts is built on a founder-first investment philosophy grounded in a “mentorship-as-asset” model and a network of experienced mentors—many of whom are senior security executives and successful entrepreneurs. This network effect provides early validation, strategic guidance, and support for scaling, while helping mitigate risk in the formative stages of a company’s life.

Gili Raanan is credited with inventing CAPTCHA and holds more than 10 U.S. patents related to security and application technologies. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.

In 2025, he was ranked #24 on the Forbes Midas List and #3 on the Forbes Seed list, reflecting his continued influence in the tech investment space.

Notable Investments

Since founding Cyberstarts in 2018, Gili Raanan has invested in nearly 30 companies and counting within the cybersecurity industry. Some of his most significant investments include:

Wiz – Cloud Security Platform: Cyberstarts led Wiz’s seed round in 2020. The company rapidly scaled, achieving $100 million in annual recurring revenue within 18 months. In March 2025, Google announced its intention to acquire Wiz for $32 billion in cash, marking the largest private technology company exit to date.

Cyera – Security platform powered by artificial intelligence: Since leading its 2021 seed round, Cyberstarts has worked closely with Cyera, guiding them through a period of rapid growth. Having raised $300 million during the Series C in April 2024 at a $1.4 billion valuation, to a $300 million Series D in November 2024—within these six months the company’s valuation had doubled to $3 billion.

Fireblocks – platform for securing digital assets: Cyberstarts participated in the seed round of Fireblocks in 2018. The company has experienced rapid growth and is currently valued at more than $8 billion.

Island – enterprise browser designed for enhanced security: Cyberstarts invested in Island in 2020. In 2023, Island raised $100 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion.

Upwind – leader in cloud infrastructure optimization: Cyberstarts invested in Upwind and in 2024, the company secured $100 million in funding at a valuation of approximately $900 million.

Transmit Security – Identity and access management solutions
An early investor in Transmit Security, supporting its mission to streamline identity authentication and eliminate passwords. The company has since grown into a prominent player in the identity space, raising one of the largest Series A rounds in cybersecurity history—$543 million in 2021—at a valuation of $2.2 billion.

Armis – cyber exposure management & security company: One of the earliest investments of Cyberstarts, Armis was acquired by Insight Partners in 2020 at a valuation of $1.1 billion in the largest cybersecurity deal in Israel at the time. The company has continued its growth trajectory, raising $200 million in 2024 at a $4.3 billion valuation and is preparing for a potential IPO.

Gili Raanan in the News

As a significant figure within the cybersecurity industry, Raanan has been featured across a number of media channels. In 2025, he hosted an episode of Invest Like the Best, sharing his unique approach to early-stage cybersecurity investing. He discusses the Sunrise methodology, why founder resilience matters more than credentials, and how shifts in AI and global security shape the industry. The interview offers a rare look into the mindset behind some of the most successful cybersecurity startups.

Raanan has been specifically interviewed a number of times when featured following company news and announcement including a feature in Fortune magazine on October 21 2024, following the firm’s announcement of the closing of its fourth seed fund, raising $60 million. This brought the firm’s total assets under management to $720 million.

Another interview appeared in C-Tech in February 2025 which discussed Raanan’s expanded ventures into sports by acquiring a 10% stake in Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club for approximately $2.8 million.

Cyberstarts and Raanan were featured in an article in C-Tech along in March 2025 with a number of VC firms, which discussed Wiz’s $32 billion acquisition by Google, early investors led by Gili Raanan and Cyberstarts. The piece recognizes Ranaan’s pivotal role in cybersecurity investments through Cyberstarts.

On July 22, 2024 the Times of Israel covered the announcement that Linx Security, a startup focused on identity threat detection, emerged from stealth with $33 million in funding. The seed round was led by Cyberstarts, with participation from Wiz founders and other notable investors. The article noted that Gili Raanan’s involvement underscored his commitment to nurturing early-stage cybersecurity ventures.

In July 2025, Cyberstarts announced the launch of a $300 million employee liquidity fund—an initiative led by Gili Raanan to help cybersecurity startups retain top talent and strengthen long-term commitment. The fund offers structured secondary opportunities for employees to sell a portion of their vested shares without leaving their company, highlighting Gili’s commitment to building high-growth startups through better talent retention and aligned incentives.