10 Cloud, Data And Identity Security Startups To Watch In 2024

We’re looking at startups founded in the past four years that have recently launched new offerings for cloud, data or identity security.

As threat actors continue to move away from targeting endpoints as their main focus, attacks aimed at cloud environments and identity systems continue to surge. When it comes to identity, for instance, many organizations undoubtedly have massive gaps, solution provider executives have told CRN. Time and time again, organizations invest in a variety of technologies for locking down their identity and access systems, “and they're still getting breached,” said Mark Jones, founder and CEO of Austin, Texas-based BlackLake Security, No. 221 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 for 2024.

That has helped lead to BlackLake’s partnership with an early stage startup, Savvy, which focuses on SaaS identity security. Working with Savvy has generated major opportunities for BlackLake to perform audit assessments of customer environments, which includes identifying the identity and access issues that the customers are unaware of, Jones said.

Likewise, in the realms of cloud and data security, attacks continue to intensify amid the shift to newer tactics and techniques—prompting a need for greater innovation in those categories as well.

As part of CRN’s Cybersecurity Week 2024, we’ve identified 10 of these up-and-coming players in the cloud, identity and data security segments. We’ve chosen startups that were founded since 2020 and have had major announcements in 2024—such as a significant product launch or funding round—showing their traction in the space. In terms of funding, cybersecurity startups that have raised rounds at unicorn-level valuations this year have included Cyera, Chainguard and Island.

What follows are the key details on 10 startups to watch in cloud, data and identity security.

Chainguard

Founded: 2021

CEO: Dan Lorenc

Chainguard aims to provide greater software supply chain and cloud environment security through offering container images with “low-to-zero” known vulnerabilities, with the aim of enabling developers to worry less about security through making it a default in containers. In July, Kirkland, Wash.-based Chainguard announced a $140 million Series C funding round led by Redpoint Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and IVP, which brought with it a $1.12 billion valuation.

Cyera

Founded: 2021

CEO: Yotam Segev

Cyera offers an agentless data security posture management (DSPM) tool, enabling discovery, classification, assessment and protection for both unstructured and structured data. Notably, Cyera’s DSPM technology works across cloud environments and SaaS applications as well as data lakes and on-premises environments, the New York-based company said. In April, Cyera announced it had raised a $300 million Series C round led by Coatue, which brings the company to a valuation of $1.4 billion and $460 million in total funding raised.

Dazz

Founded: 2021

CEO: Merav Bahat

Dazz offers a cloud security platform focused on remediation, including through capabilities such as application security posture management and continuous threat and exposure management. In July, the startup announced raising $50 million in funding from Greylock, Cyberstarts, Insight Partners and Index Ventures, bringing the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company to $110 million in total funding to date.

Island

Founded: 2020

CEO: Mike Fey

Island offers a secure workplace-focused web browser, the Island Enterprise Browser, which automatically embeds data protection, network and IT controls, security capabilities and other functionality. In April, Dallas-based Island disclosed raising a $175 million Series D funding led by Coatue and Sequoia, which brought with it a $3 billion valuation.

Legit Security

Founded: 2020

CEO: Roni Fuchs

Legit Security offers an application security posture management platform that aims to provide improved visibility and security throughout the software development process, including through offering a unified console for code and cloud security. In August, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup announced what it’s calling “the industry's first AI Security Command Center,” which offers a dedicated dashboard for AI security.

Protect AI

Founded: 2022

CEO: Ian Swanson

Protect AI brings a focus on AI-SPM (AI Security Posture Management) that aims to provide greater visibility, management and security for AI/ML environments, as well as providing remediation and governance capabilities. In August, Seattle-based Protect AI announced closing $60 million in Series B funding led by Evolution Equity Partners, bringing the company to $108.5 million in total funding raised to date.

Savvy

Founded: 2021

CEO: Guy Guzner

Savvy aims to bolster SaaS identity security through greater automation, including through the company’s browser extension that provides direct guidance to users for resolving password and other account issues. In September, Tel Aviv, Israel-based Savvy launched new capabilities for user offboarding that can help IT and security teams to better prioritize user access removal.

Sentra

Founded: 2021

CEO: Yoav Regev

Sentra offers a data security posture management platform that aims to offer improved visibility into sensitive cloud data, along with greater automation for risk assessment and access analysis related to the data. In May, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup unveiled a new offering, Sentra DataTreks, which provides alerts on movement of sensitive data as well as guidance and recommendations. Sentra also unveiled on-premises support in May.

Upwind Security

Founded: 2022

CEO: Amiram Shachar

Upwind offers a comprehensive runtime cloud security platform that includes cloud workload protection and cloud detection and response as well as CSPM (cloud security posture management), CIEM (cloud identity entitlement management) and other capabilities. The Upwind platform leverages the San Francisco-based company’s “lightweight” eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) sensor technology for identifying anomalous behavior and providing automated protection, the startup has said. In March, Upwind disclosed that its offering is available as an add-on for the Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS).

Veza

Founded: 2020

CEO: Tarun Thakur

Identity security startup Veza aims to help organizations improve their security around access permissions and privileges with a focus on providing a visual view for more easily spotting anomalous and risky permissions. The Veza platform works across identity and data systems, cloud infrastructure, SaaS and custom-built apps, according to the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company. In August, Veza announced a new tool, Access AI, which utilizes GenAI to enable improved visibility and remediation around permissions and access risks.