Team8 co-founder: "There’s a new employee in every organization, and no one ran a background check"
Speaking at the Tech1 conference, Liran Grinberg, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Team8, warned of the security risks posed by AI agents operating inside enterprises with insufficient oversight of their access to sensitive data. Commenting on Intel's reported $2.3 billion acquisition of Classiq, in which Team8 was an early investor, he said: “Israel wins by building the layer everyone else depends on.”
"Every shift in computing creates a new security market. Quantum means the encryption we rely on today has an expiry date, and governments have already started the clock. Crypto agility is about to go from a nice-to-have to a budget line," said Liran Grinberg, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Team8, speaking at the Tech1 conference.
Grinberg's remarks followed Intel's acquisition of Israeli quantum computing company Classiq, in a deal reportedly valued at $2.3 billion and considered the largest quantum computing deal on record. Team8 was among the company's early investors.
"Classiq is proof that Israel wins by building the layer everyone else depends on. They didn't build a quantum computer. They built the software that makes every quantum computer usable. That's the same playbook that built Israeli cyber," Grinberg said.
According to Grinberg, the transition to quantum computing is creating opportunities not only in software but also in cybersecurity. Advances in computing capabilities pose challenges to existing encryption systems, requiring organizations to prepare for a transition between encryption methods. He expects crypto agility, the ability to adapt and replace cryptographic mechanisms, to become an enterprise requirement reflected in cybersecurity budgets.
Alongside quantum computing, Grinberg outlined Team8's cybersecurity investment thesis, identifying another area that could drive the next wave of cybersecurity companies: securing AI agents operating within enterprises.
"There's a new employee in every enterprise. It never sleeps, it has access to almost everything, and nobody ran its background check," Grinberg said. "One in five CISOs in our CISO Village can't tell whether an agent has touched sensitive data. That visibility gap is where the next great security companies will be built."
Grinberg also addressed changes in how enterprises purchase and develop security solutions. According to findings from Team8's CISO Village, a community of more than 1,000 security leaders from leading global companies, only 2% of CISOs expect to rely primarily on purchasing ready-made security solutions two years from now. The finding points to new opportunities for startups as enterprise security teams increasingly develop their own tools.
"Security teams are becoming builders. Only 2% expect to mostly buy in two years. That doesn't shrink the opportunity for startups, it moves it. The winners will make what enterprises build observable, measurable and secure," he said.
According to Grinberg, the next opportunities in cybersecurity will emerge from fundamental shifts in how enterprises use technology. On one hand, the transition to quantum computing is creating a need to adapt existing encryption systems. On the other, the growing adoption of AI agents is raising new challenges around controlling their access to sensitive data and enterprise systems. In both cases, the opportunity for emerging cybersecurity companies lies in building the security layer that enables enterprises to adopt these technologies safely.
Only 2% of information security leaders anticipate that, in two years' time, they will rely primarily on purchasing off-the-shelf solutions. This figure points to new directions for entrepreneurs regarding what is worth building. "Security teams are becoming builders. Only 2% expect that in two years they will mainly buy ready-made solutions. This doesn't shrink the opportunity for start-ups; it shifts it. The winners will be those who make what organizations are building visible, measurable, and secure," he said.
According to him, future opportunities in the cyber industry are expected to emerge around fundamental shifts in how organizations utilize technology: on one hand, the transition to quantum computing and the need to adapt encryption systems accordingly; and on the other, the expanding use of AI agents, alongside the need to control their access to organizational data and systems. In both cases, the challenge for new cybersecurity companies will be to develop a security layer that enables organizations to adopt these technologies safely.
