XM Cyber, which was founded by Mossad veterans, announced today that it is acquiring Israeli startup Cyber Observer. XM Cyber itself was acquired last year by European retail chain Schwartz Group for $700 million.
Cyber Observer was founded in 2012 by graduates of the Prime Minister's Office computer unit CEO Shimon Becker, VP R&D Moti Ram and CTO Oded Mass. No financial details about the acquisition were disclosed by market sources estimate that XM Cyber is paying $30 million. Cyber Observer has raised $12 million since it was founded and its most recent financing round in 2019 was led by US fund Merlin Ventures. Other investors in Cyber Observer include Shaul Shani's Swarth Group, and London-based Talis Capital. The deal was closed last night. Shaul Shani was one of the company's biggest investors.
Cyber Observer's technology examines all security products installed an organization and ensures that they are operating optimally. The company identifies when an organization has changed its configuration or parameters in a way that might harm the functioning of the security products of the enterprise. Following the acquisition, Cyber Observer's product will be integrated into XM Cyber's platform and the combined product will be sold to customers. Cyber Observer has 30 employees, although according to LinkedIn its workforce has shrunk by 13% over the past year.
XM Cyber operates in the field of automatic infiltration testing to identify vulnerabilities and potential attack paths for penetrating an organization by taking advantage of any weaknesses. Other startups working in this psace include Pentera, which became a unicorn at the start of the year, Cymulate, and SafeBreach.
XM Cyber was founded by CEO Noam Erez, CTO Boaz Gorodissky and former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, who serves as chairman. The company, which remains independent within the Schwartz Group, has 130 employees, who will now be joined by Cyber Observer's workforce.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 27, 2022.
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