doug leone

BREAKING: Google Completes $32B Acquisition of Wiz $6M Seed → $32 Billion Exit First seed investor Gili Raanan (@giliraanan) of Cyberstarts explains how a $6M seed check became the largest cybersecurity exit ever — & what it’s like working with CEO Assaf Rappaport. Cyberstarts stats: - $1.5B+ AUM across 7 funds - Backed 30 companies - Portfolio represents over $61B in combined value (50% of the worldwide private cybersecurity companies market) - Backed at Seed: Wiz, Island, Fireblocks, Cyera, Transmit Security - 9 exits including Noname, Axis, Bionic, Dazz, Avalor This conversation took place in London February 12th, 2026. We cover: • Early days of @wiz_io & how the company evolved from seed to a $32B outcome • Why Wiz achieved such strong product market fit • What made Assaf (@assaf_rappaport) and the founding team special • How Cyberstarts picks founders before there is product or code • Why Gili believes AI could create the darkest decade in cybersecurity • What the next generation of $50B–$100B cyber companies could look like 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Gili Raanan, Founder Cyberstarts (01:05) From Sequoia to building a Cyber only venture fund (04:39) Building CAPTCHA and the first web application firewall at 27 (05:35) Growing up in a small Israeli town and discovering computers (09:15) Why he decided to focus only on cybersecurity (11:05) Investing in people, not ideas (12:45) The kind of founders he looks for (14:05) Why adversity creates better entrepreneurs (16:11) When a small fund delivers outsized returns (19:00) A portfolio with 50% of private cyber market value (20:12) Growing up introverted & learning to observe people (26:30) What makes a company truly important (30:48) Why do Israeli founders dominate cybersecurity? (31:05) Helping founders become the best version of themselves (37:06) Israeli culture, pressure, and resilience (41:25) Breaking the ceiling with companies like Wiz (43:24) Why limits exist mostly in our minds (46:15) Facing fears, Yoga and overcoming internal limits (47:32) The “Sunrise” method for finding PMF (51:55) Why building startups is an emotional journey (56:25) How cybersecurity ideas actually emerge (58:15) The dark decade of cybersecurity (01:06:45) Asimov’s laws of robotics and AI guardrails (01:09:55) The three biggest cybersecurity risks in 2026 (01:12:25) Inside the $32B Wiz deal (01:22:23) What makes Wiz co-founder Assaf exceptional (01:24:33) Surrounding yourself with great people (01:28:48) The biggest takeaways from his time at Sequoia: Doug Leone, Mike Moritz (01:32:05) What’s next for Cyberstarts?

Everyone knows @wiz_io broke a record reaching $100M ARR in 18 months. What everyone doesn’t know is that the team was using a clever hack - leveraging their Israeli time zone. They’d code all day, and then the engineers would get on the phone to make sales calls all night. Everything about Wiz changed fast in the early days - the idea, the product, the market. What never changed was the teamwork of @assaf_rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik & @amiluttwak - their clarity of vision, their ability to listen to customers and iterate, and the commitment to moving faster than anyone else could match. Founders: remember that in any technology cycle, in any market, a willingness to outwork everyone else is a superpower. Congrats to @wiz_io. Excited for your next chapter with @Google

Congrats @roelofbotha, what an amazing run! I am proud of your stewardship personally and professionally. I remember when @alfred_lin joined Sequoia 15 years ago, and @gradypb all the way back in 2007. They are the perfect pair to steward @sequoia for its next chapter. Let’s go!

Frank Slootman doesn’t hand out endorsements. So when he joins @Cyera’s board, you pay attention. Here’s why the guy behind Snowflake & ServiceNow is all-in on AI-native data security. cyera.io/blog/why-cyera…

6/6 We @sequoia couldn’t be prouder of @assaf_rappaport and the @wiz_io team. It’s been an honor to be your partner for over a decade. Thank you for letting us be a part of your journey. wiz.io/blog/wiz-joini…

5/6 Today marks a new milestone. @wiz_io. & @googlecloud share a vision to improve security by making it easier & faster for organizations of all types & sizes to protect themselves, end-to-end, across all major clouds – helping spur the adoption of multicloud cybersecurity.

1/6 @assaf_rappaport thought I was Don Valentine when we first met. A mistaken encounter turned into a decade-plus relationship with @sequoia leading the earliest rounds in Assaf’s first company, Adallom, and @wiz_io. Today @Google announced its intent to acquire Wiz.

Enjoyed chatting with @DerekjAndersen and honored to be the first guest for the new @Divotdotorg interview series.

Every founder—and all the outsiders being told they don’t stand a chance—can learn something from @Nubank’s story.  Spotify: seq.vc/bmd Apple: seq.vc/ay4 YouTube:  seq.vc/okd

In 2013, @velez_david pitched @Sequoia on disrupting Brazil's banks as an industry outsider with no banking or tech experience. Today, @Nubank serves 100M+ customers as LatAm's most valuable financial company—proving outsiders with conviction can win big.

THE END OF LUNACY AND THE RETURN OF COMMON SENSE!!

To all Trump voters: you no longer have to hide in the shadows…..you’re the majority!!

Amazing to be part of the @wiz_io journey over the last 4 years. Kudos to @assaf_rappaport and the Wiz team on the incredible ride. The inside story of Wiz: sequoiacap.com/article/wiz-sp… #cloud #cybersecurity

@ServiceNow 2/ From @fred_luddy’s product vision to Frank Slootman’s hardcore execution, learn about scaling a business from 2 legends, on the new episode of the Crucible Moments podcast from @Sequoia, with @gradypb, @carl_eschenbach, @roelofbotha and me. seq.vc/pj0

1/ Little did we know when we partnered with @ServiceNow how important this small detail in our original investment memo would become. It led to one of the most unique stories of my career and an incredible journey for the ServiceNow team.

This is @ServiceNow founder @fred_luddy, starting over at age 50 as a first-time founder, at his very first contract signing. Tomorrow, hear how @ServiceNow went from 0 to $150B on Crucible Moments, ft. Fred, Frank Slootman, @dougleone, @gradypb, @carl_eschenbach.