5. Wiz

Founders: Assaf Rappaport (CEO), Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik
Launched: 2020
Headquarters: New York City
Funding: $900 million
Valuation: $10 billion
Key technologies: Cloud computing
Industry: Enterprise technology
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 0

From Tel Aviv comes hyper-growth startup Wiz and its trailblazing path to $100 million in revenue within 18 months. Wiz is a security management service that is designed to recognize and deal with cyber risks quickly and easily, and is creating an emerging category of cloud-based cybersecurity.  

Several disruptors have rushed into this market to challenge incumbent Palo Alto Networks, including another D50 company – Orca Security – as well as longer-established Nasdaq-listed Qualys and Rapid7. The recent growth spurt for Wiz comes from launching several new products, getting contracts from BMW and Salesforce, and gaining work from about one-third of Fortune 100 companies.

This is all happening as the cloud transitions beyond computer access and storage and filters into the cyber market, and as a result the demand for cloud security has surged.

Venture capitalists are chasing players in this emerging sector. A $100 million round in 2020 brought the Wiz out of stealth mode. Wiz's latest funding of $300 million in February 2023 came at a $10 billion valuation, up from $6 billion in a 2021 investment of $250 million. Backing the company were several top-tier VCs, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Greenoaks Capital Partners, and Index Ventures. Sequoia Capital, French business magnate Bernard Arnault and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz are also among its investors.

Wiz was co-founded by CEO Assaf Rappaport along with a team of three others in tech, R&D and product design, who have worked together for over 20 years, including as leads at Microsoft's Cloud Security Group and as the founding team of Adallom, which was acquired by Microsoft for $320 million in 2015. 

Wiz has been praised for creating a comprehensive cloud platform that provides customers with actionable insights within minutes, shows area of risks and how to resolve those vulnerabilities.

Its approach uses technology to seamlessly scan workloads in the cloud. Wiz also has developed an industry repository where cloud providers and researchers can share threat information in real time. Such new tools help customers get alerts of suspicious events, identify where the next threat may emerge and take action before a breach occurs.

The startup is in expansion mode, hiring more employees and opening offices in Dallas, Austin and Washington, D.C. Initially focused on the U.S. and Israel, Wiz opened an office in London to serve the EMEA region and aims to expand in Asia.