Which cloud security startups got funded?

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Cloud security startups raised $1.397 billion in 2024, with mega-rounds driving unprecedented investor interest in platforms that consolidate multiple security tools.

The funding landscape reveals clear patterns: CNAPP platforms dominate large rounds, AI-driven threat detection attracts Series A/B capital, and strategic investors from hyperscalers signal acquisition appetites. Understanding these funding dynamics helps entrepreneurs position their startups and guides investors toward high-growth segments.

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Which cloud security startups secured the largest funding rounds in 2024-2025?

Wiz dominates with its $1 billion Series E at a $12 billion valuation, representing the largest pure-play cybersecurity raise in 2024.

Upwind follows with a $100 million Series A at a $900 million valuation, tripling its previous seed round valuation in just 18 months. This massive Series A reflects investor confidence in runtime-powered cloud threat prioritization technology that reduces alert fatigue through real-time context.

Sentra raised $50 million in Series B funding, pushing total funding past $100 million with specific earmarks for engineering R&D. The round signals strong investor appetite for Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platforms that use LLM-based pattern matching for AI workflow protection.

Cynomi secured $37 million in Series B for its automated vCISO/GRC platform targeting SMBs, while Mitiga raised $30 million to expand its AI-driven SaaS and cloud threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities across US and European markets.

Who are the top investors backing cloud security startups and which companies did they fund?

Andreessen Horowitz leads the mega-round category, anchoring Wiz's $1 billion Series E alongside Lightspeed and Thrive Capital.

Craft Ventures emerged as a dominant Series A leader, spearheading Upwind's $100 million round with participation from TCV, Alta Park, Greylock, Cyberstarts, and Sheva. Insight Partners demonstrates consistent cloud security focus, leading both Cynomi's $37 million Series B and Reco's $25 million Series B.

Strategic investors show increasing activity: Microsoft's M12 venture arm led Edera's $15 million Series A for GPU/AI infrastructure isolation, while Akamai participated in RAD Security's $14 million Series A. Munich Re co-led Sentra's Series B, indicating insurance industry recognition of data security risks.

Israeli VC Zeev Ventures maintains strong positioning with investments in both Sentra and Reco, leveraging the country's cybersecurity expertise. SYN Ventures focuses on cloud-native security, leading Mitiga's expansion round for SaaS threat detection capabilities.

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What core technologies and innovations are these funded startups building?

CNAPP (Cloud Native Application Protection Platform) dominates the largest funding rounds, with Wiz leading through agentless posture management, vulnerability scanning, detection/response, data security, and Infrastructure-as-Code scanning capabilities.

Runtime-powered risk prioritization represents the next evolution, with Upwind providing real-time alert triage across CSPM, CWPP, CDR, identity, and container security. This technology addresses the critical problem of alert fatigue by providing runtime context that helps security teams focus on actual threats.

AI-agent platforms emerge as a significant trend: Maze builds autonomous vulnerability investigation systems, Reco develops AI agents for SaaS application security, and RAD Security launches AI-driven Cloud Detection & Response. These platforms promise to automate complex security workflows that currently require manual investigation.

Data Security Posture Management gains traction through Sentra's in-place scanning with LLM-based pattern matching specifically designed for AI workflow protection. Workload isolation technology, exemplified by Edera's native multi-tenant GPU/AI workload protection, addresses the growing need for secure AI infrastructure without disrupting existing workflows.

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How much total capital was invested in cloud security startups across 2024 and 2025?

Cloud security startup funding reached $1.397 billion in 2024, representing an all-time high driven by mega-rounds for category leaders.

The first half of 2025 shows continued momentum with at least $193 million deployed across nine major Series A/B/C financings. This figure represents only documented rounds from emerging innovators and excludes potential undisclosed seed rounds or strategic investments.

Wiz's $1 billion Series E alone accounts for over 70% of 2024's total funding, demonstrating the winner-take-most dynamics in cloud security markets. The remaining $397 million distributed across dozens of smaller rounds indicates healthy ecosystem development beyond the mega-rounds.

The 2025 pace suggests annual funding could reach $400-500 million even without another mega-round, indicating sustained investor confidence in cloud security innovation despite broader venture market corrections.

Which geographic regions attracted the most cloud security funding and why?

North America dominates funding volume, capturing approximately 75% of total investment through companies like Wiz, Upwind, Sentra, and RAD Security.

Israel emerges as a disproportionate talent hub, producing Upwind, Edera, and Cynomi despite its small size. This concentration reflects Israel's military-driven cybersecurity R&D heritage and established networks connecting defense expertise with venture capital.

Western Europe shows growing strength with Maze raising €21.8 million in London, benefiting from EU innovation grants and emerging AI security clusters. The region's GDPR experience provides competitive advantages in data security and privacy compliance technologies.

The geographic concentration around hyperscaler proximity matters: North American startups benefit from direct relationships with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud engineering teams, enabling deeper integrations and strategic partnership development that international competitors struggle to replicate.

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Are major cloud providers and cybersecurity giants actively investing in this space?

Microsoft demonstrates direct strategic investment through M12's participation in Edera's $15 million Series A, focusing on GPU/AI infrastructure protection that aligns with Azure's AI compute strategy.

Google's $32 billion acquisition of Wiz in July 2025 represents the largest cybersecurity acquisition in history, transforming Wiz into Google Cloud's multicloud security engine. This acquisition signals hyperscaler recognition that security capabilities drive cloud adoption decisions.

Traditional cybersecurity giants remain surprisingly absent from major funding rounds, suggesting potential strategic missteps in cloud-native security evolution. Akamai's participation in RAD Security represents an exception, leveraging its CDN infrastructure for cloud security delivery.

Insurance companies enter the space through Munich Re's co-leadership of Sentra's Series B, recognizing that data security breaches drive insurance claims and seeking proactive risk mitigation through equity investments.

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What are the clear thematic trends among these funded startups?

AI-driven threat detection and response appears universal across RAD Security, Maze, Reco, and Mitiga, indicating investor conviction that machine learning will fundamentally transform security operations.

Zero trust architecture and workload isolation gain momentum through Edera's native isolation technology and broader industry adoption of zero-trust principles. This trend addresses the inadequacy of perimeter-based security in cloud environments.

Data Security and DSPM emerge as critical categories, with Sentra's LLM-powered discovery capabilities addressing AI data hygiene concerns. As organizations deploy AI systems, protecting training data and model outputs becomes paramount.

CNAPP consolidation dominates large funding rounds, with both Wiz and Upwind building single platforms to replace multiple point solutions. This consolidation addresses the operational complexity of managing dozens of security tools across cloud environments.

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Have these startups entered strategic partnerships with hyperscalers or major enterprises?

Wiz's transformation into Google Cloud's multicloud security engine through the $32 billion acquisition represents the most significant hyperscaler integration, providing Google with comprehensive cloud security capabilities across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud environments.

Sentra developed direct integrations with major cloud providers for inline data scanning, enabling real-time data discovery and classification without data movement. These partnerships provide technical validation and enterprise customer confidence.

Mitiga gained strategic board expertise from former Mandiant executives and Secret Service leadership, providing credibility for government and enterprise sales cycles. This advisory structure helps navigate complex procurement processes in large organizations.

Edera established collaborations with GPU/AI infrastructure vendors to automate security deployment, addressing the rapid growth in AI workloads that traditional security tools cannot protect effectively.

What share of investment goes toward R&D versus market expansion?

Most funded startups allocate 60-70% of their latest rounds to product R&D, including new feature development and AI/ML enhancement capabilities.

The remaining 30-40% funds team scaling across sales, marketing, and customer support functions. Sentra specifically earmarked headcount growth and AI feature development, while RAD Security emphasizes product expansion alongside talent acquisition.

This allocation reflects the technical complexity of cloud security platforms, where continuous R&D investment is required to keep pace with evolving cloud services, threat landscapes, and compliance requirements. Unlike traditional software categories, cloud security demands ongoing engineering investment to maintain effectiveness.

The high R&D allocation also indicates market immaturity, where product differentiation through technical innovation remains more important than sales and marketing efficiency optimization.

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What investment trends can be expected for cloud security in 2026?

Deepening AI security focus will drive investment in AI-native security posture management, protecting AI training pipelines, model deployment, and inference workloads from emerging attack vectors.

Edge and multi-cloud workload protection will attract funding as organizations deploy applications across hybrid environments requiring micro-segmentation and workload isolation beyond core cloud platforms.

Unified identity-centered defenses represent convergence opportunities, combining identity security with cloud posture management to address the reality that most cloud breaches stem from identity compromise rather than infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Hyperscaler-backed startups will become more common as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud establish venture arms or increase strategic investment activity to secure competitive advantages in cloud security capabilities.

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Why were these startups considered high-potential investment bets?

Wiz and Upwind address the critical enterprise need to consolidate disparate security tools into unified platforms, reducing operational complexity and improving security effectiveness through comprehensive visibility.

Both companies solve alert fatigue through runtime context and AI automation, enabling security teams to focus on genuine threats rather than investigating thousands of false positives daily. This value proposition directly translates into measurable ROI for enterprise customers.

The massive Series A valuations reflect total addressable market expansion as cloud adoption accelerates and regulatory requirements increase. Every organization moving to cloud infrastructure requires cloud security capabilities, creating predictable demand growth.

Technical differentiation through agentless deployment, runtime analysis, and AI-driven automation provides sustainable competitive advantages that are difficult for incumbents to replicate without fundamental architecture changes.

Conclusion

Sources

1. SC World - 7 Cloud Security Startups Not Named Wiz
2. TechCrunch - Wiz Raises $1B at $12B Valuation
3. TechCrunch - Upwind Raises $100M on $900M Valuation
4. SecurityWeek - Sentra Raises $50 Million Series B
5. Fintech Global - Mitiga Secures $30M Series B
6. SiliconANGLE - Reco Raises $25M Funding
7. Fintech Global - Edera Secures $15M Series A
8. EU-Startups - Maze Launches with €21.8 Million
9. CRN - 10 Hottest Cybersecurity Startups of 2025
10. Vertex Holdings - RAD Security Raises $14 Million Series A