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Cybersecurity Funding

Cylake Raises $245 Million Ahead of Cybersecurity Platform Beta

The startup founded by Palo Alto Networks’ Nir Zuk has raised $290 million to build an AI-native security platform for highly regulated organizations that cannot rely on the public cloud.

Cybersecurity startup Cylake has raised $245 million to accelerate the development of its sovereign security platform, bringing the company’s total funding to $290 million only six months after its launch.

Cylake said the investment will be used to develop its platform and expand its team ahead of a beta release expected by the end of 2026. General availability remains scheduled for 2027.

The company emerged from stealth in March 2026 with a $45 million seed investment led by Greylock Partners. Cylake has since grown to more than 40 employees and plans to continue hiring across engineering, product, and other functions.

Cylake was co-founded by CEO Nir Zuk, chief development officer Wilson Xu, and chief architect Ehud “Udi” Shamir.

Zuk founded Palo Alto Networks and served as its chief technology officer for more than two decades. Xu was an engineering executive at Palo Alto Networks, while Shamir co-founded SentinelOne and later worked at Palo Alto Networks as a distinguished software developer and security researcher. They are also joined by René Bonvanie, who previously served as CMO at Palo Alto Networks.

The startup is building what it describes as a complete, AI-native cybersecurity platform for government agencies, highly regulated enterprises, and other organizations that cannot depend on public cloud infrastructure.

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Designed to operate entirely on premises or in private cloud environments, the platform is intended to give customers control over their data, infrastructure, and security operations. Cylake says its architecture will combine data and context from across an organization’s infrastructure into a unified foundation for protection and AI-powered workflows.

The approach is meant to address both data sovereignty requirements and the visibility gaps created by operating multiple security products that each have access to only a portion of an organization’s data.

“We are building Cylake for organizations that cannot compromise between adopting advanced cybersecurity technology and maintaining control of their data and infrastructure,” Zuk said in the company’s funding announcement.

“In those cases, the public cloud is not the right operating model. The architecture needs to be rebuilt around complete data, sovereignty, and control for an AI-native world,” he added.

The financing was raised through a convertible note with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Picture Capital, and Redpoint Ventures. Ravi Mhatre, partner and co-founder at Lightspeed, will join Cylake’s board of directors, while Picture Capital partner Rakesh Loonkar will become a board observer.

Related: Cylake Raises $45 Million to Secure Organizations Barred From Cloud

Written By

For more than 15 years, Mike Lennon has been closely monitoring the threat landscape and analyzing trends in the National Security and enterprise cybersecurity space. In his role at SecurityWeek, he oversees the editorial direction of the publication and is founder and director of several leading cybersecurity industry conferences around the world.

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