UpWest-backed CyberX is Acquired by Microsoft to Accelerate IOT/OT Deployments
We’re thrilled to share the news that our portfolio company CyberX announced today it’s been acquired by Microsoft!
After meeting the team back in 2013, UpWest became the very first investor in CyberX and it has been amazing to see the journey as the company grew over the past 7 years.
We originally met founders Omer Schneider and Nir Giller in April 2013 after an introduction from another founder we had previously invested in. Omer and Nir’s impressive background and leadership in Israel’s cybersecurity world stood out. They were actually working on an entirely different concept than what CyberX does today, but we really liked them as entrepreneurs and even though we didn’t invest at that point, agreed to stay in touch and check in periodically with each other.
We then met again in late summer 2013 in Tel Aviv. By then Omer and Nir had an entirely new business idea for their company CyberX, an IoT/OT cybersecurity platform to help secure critical infrastructure such as energy grids, manufacturing etc. We thought the idea had great potential although the IoT market was still nascent, so we became their first investors in August 2013. Just as with most of our investments, the team was eager to get closer to the US market with their early idea. Therefore, immediately following our check, Omer and Nir spent a few months working from our office in Palo Alto. We helped the CyberX team with early product positioning, go-to-market strategy, and connected them to a number of early potential customers.
After securing the foothold in the US market and additional funding rounds, Omer relocated to Boston to setup the US HQ while Nir built a stellar R&D team in Israel.
We’re so proud of their hard work and are privileged to have played a role in their journey over the past seven years. We can’t wait to see what’s next!
