Cyber startup Upwind in talks to raise $250 million-plus at over $1.2 billion valuation
EXCLUSIVE: The Israeli company, founded by Amiram Shachar and former Spot executives, is seeking a sharply higher valuation one year after its last round.
Amiram Shachar’s cybersecurity company Upwind is raising more than $250 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion, Calcalist has learned. The funding round includes participation from venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and Picture Capital, backed by the founders of Island and Transmit Security. Upwind’s previous funding round took place in late 2024, when the company raised $100 million at an estimated valuation of $800 million to $900 million.
Upwind was reported to be in talks to be acquired by Datadog for an estimated $1 billion in July of last year. The company was founded in 2022 by Shachar, along with his founding partners from Spot.io (which was sold to NetApp for $450 million in 2020): Liran Polak, Lavi Ferdman, and Tal Zuri.
The Israeli company has raised $180 million to date. Its investors include Craft Ventures, known for investments in Elon Musk-linked companies such as SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI, as well as TCV, Alta Park Capital, Greylock, Cyberstarts, Leaders Fund, Cerca, Sheva, and Penny Jar, the fund backed by NBA star Stephen Curry.
The company has developed a cloud security platform, often referred to as a CNAPP (Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform). This platform helps organizations focus on real risks rather than being overwhelmed by irrelevant threats. Upwind's solution consolidates various security functions, such as Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Workload Protection (CWPP), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR), vulnerability management, identity security, and container security into one comprehensive offering.
Shachar is Upwind’s founder and most prominent figure. He served for six years as an officer in the IDF’s Mamaram unit, where he managed the military’s data center infrastructure and led the first implementation of virtualization technologies, including VMware, within the IDF. In 2015, he founded Spot.io (originally Spotinst), based on his college final project.
Spot.io developed technology that enabled cloud customers to use reserved servers at significantly reduced costs, cutting cloud computing expenses by as much as 80%. The company was acquired by NetApp in 2020 for $450 million. Following the acquisition, Shachar served as a vice president and general manager at NetApp.
Shachar has repeatedly argued that speed is the defining factor in today’s technology landscape. In his view, the ability to move quickly, to adopt new technologies, scale teams rapidly, and respond faster than competitors, is essential to maintaining a competitive edge.
In April last year, Upwind acquired Nyx Security, an Israeli startup specializing in real-time application security services.
