Wiz Acquires Cloud Detection And Response Startup Gem Security

It’s the second acquisition for cloud security unicorn Wiz.

Wiz announced its second acquisition to date in an effort to bolster the detection and response capabilities on its cloud security platform.

The $10 billion cloud security vendor said it’s acquiring New York-based startup Gem Security, a provider of “real-time” cloud detection and response (CDR).

Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. Calcalist pegged the acquisition price at about $350 million, which a source close to the deal said is accurate.

Wiz did not disclose how many employees will be joining from Gem. CRN has reached out to Wiz for comment.

The deal follows the December acquisition by Wiz of cloud developer collaboration startup Raftt.

Founded in 2020, Wiz has seen surging growth essentially from the get-go with its offering that rapidly delivers improved cloud visibility and security. The company recently surpassed $350 million in annual recurring revenue.

In February 2023, Wiz became the top-valued unicorn in cybersecurity with a valuation of $10 billion, and earlier this year hired former Zscaler COO Dali Rajic as president and COO as it works toward going public.

“We want to be a public company. So that's our overall goal,” Wiz Co-Founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport said in an interview with CRN in February. “I would say when we’ve reached probably $1 billion in ARR, that would be when we should be thinking more seriously about IPO.”

Gem Security was founded in 2022 and offers “real-time CDR” that aims to shorten investigation times for containment of cloud-native attacks, Wiz said in a news release. The technology stands “in contrast to static industry solutions lacking real-time monitoring,” Wiz said.

Gem had raised $34 million in funding from backers including two corporate venture funds — IBM Ventures and Cisco Investments — as well as Team8, Notable Capital and Silicon Valley CISO Investments.

Wiz said that the three founders of Gem — CEO Arie Zilberstein, CTO Ron Konigsberg and product vice president Ofir Brukner — will be joining its executive team.

Wiz also positioned the deal as a move to consolidate more capabilities on its cloud security platform, with Rappaport saying in the news release that “consolidation is the future of the security industry.”