Linx secures $33M in funding to advance its AI-driven identity management solutions, aiming to address security challenges and strengthen perimeters in the face of evolving threats
The funding for Linx is being announced in a singular sum, but it will be distributed in two tranches that reflect the company’s momentum during its stealth phase. Linx recently raised $27 million in a joint venture by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts. Before this, Linx had raised $6 million in a venture by Cyberstarts.
Assaf Rappaport and Yinon Costica (Wiz, Adallom), Rakesh Loonkar (Trusteer, Transmit), and Mickey Boodaei (Imperva, Trusteer, Transmit) are among the other investors in Linx who attest to the founders’ credibility within the Israeli security community. Cerca Partners and Knollwood Investment Advisory are the other investors in the round.
Linx Security has existed for over a year and has a captivating origin story. The two co-founders, Israel Duanis (CEO) and Niv Goldenberg (CPO), initially encountered and became companions in the Israeli tech industry, as is common in the industry. They were enlisted in the 8200 cyber unit of the Israeli army. Assaf Rappaport and the other Wiz founders were also included in that cohort.
Duanis and Goldenberg subsequently pursued employment with cybersecurity companies, with Duanis working for Checkpoint Software and Adallom and Goldenberg for Microsoft and Transmit. Duanis also ventured outside the industry, founding, operating, and ultimately selling Fleetonomy, an automotive fleet management technology company, to Via. And yet, Duanis continued to believe that he needed to do something in security.
In an interview, he stated, “I have always felt that ID has been overlooked when I look at the past 20 years.” He recalled that access management and permissions were primarily IT issues at Checkpoint rather than security concerns. However, he also noted that many attacks are now ID-driven.
By conducting a cursory examination of several of the most prominent exposures of the past few years, including Equifax, T-Mobile, and Snowflake, it becomes evident that malicious hackers could potentially exploit ungoverned credentials, specifically identity. Duanis stated, “These were all credentials-related issues.”
They believed that a platform that could comprehend and resolve this issue from the perspectives of security, compliance, and efficiency “could have a significant impact,” he stated.
“Today, identity is the new perimeter, and as a result, you must address it.”
Ultimately, the Rappaport Rapport was quite robust. When Duanis informed Assaf that he was contemplating establishing a startup that would concentrate on ID administration, Assaf introduced him to Gili Raanan at Cyberstarts, a figurehead in the Israeli cyber industry. Within 24 hours, the seed transaction was executed, and Linx Security was established.
The company is not disclosing customers’ identities or providing significant details about its operations, with Linx only emerging from stealth today. However, the fundamental concept is as follows:
Hundreds, if not thousands, of distinct applications and software, are typically employed or utilized by organizations today. User authentication will be necessary for access to each. However, a business may be unable to eliminate all of the identity information associated with the waxing and waning of a particular app or worker when the app is no longer routinely used or when workers come and go.
The organization may accumulate substantial ungoverned identity information over time, which can quickly become a significant liability. This information may remain unnoticed until a malignant actor exploits it to access the entire system.
Linx employs analytics and AI to analyze and comprehend the broader landscape of an organization’s system, thereby connecting all identities to actual, active employees (hence the name). It also identifies IDs no longer associated with active users during the process, allowing for their removal.
The resulting data is then transformed into a map that can be employed to monitor the system over time. Consequently, you will be aware of an ID being unexpectedly retrieved and utilized.
Even though AI has become an overused term and is likely to be misused in the technology industry, Duanis stated that Linx’s application is highly precise.
“He acknowledged that the term “AI” is overused; however, he believes that the ability to extract the essence of a network and execute algorithms at a rapid pace on the development side, thereby leveraging this power to offer suggestions and automation, has had a significant impact and established a foundation for a genuine transformation in the current management paradigm.
Stated that eliminating ungoverned identities, which would have taken months to complete, can now be completed in “hours.”
Raanan at Cyberstarts swiftly agreed to provide Linx with financial support due to his assessment of the market’s potential for growth.
He stated that “identity is the primary threat vector for the contemporary enterprise.”
“The CISO’s identity teams are grappling with increasing responsibilities and are hampered by antiquated legacy solutions.”