Ynet sister publication Calcalist learned on Tuesday that Israeli unicorn startup company Claroty, operating in the cybersecurity sector, has begun preparations in recent months for an initial public offering (IPO) on one of the American stock exchanges — NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The preparations include meetings with potential investors.
Claroty, offering cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure and industrial facilities, is one of the fastest-growing unicorn companies (privately held companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more), and is also one of the few startups that has managed to maintain its unicorn status and even raise additional funds in the current hardship seen in the market.
Just a month ago, the company announced raising $100 million in funding and credit — valuing the company at $2.5 billion — but the company declined to confirm the valuation and only said the funding raised was higher than the previous round, which took place at the end of 2021, and was valued at $2 billion.
While this may not be a staggering leap in the company's value, in a period where most major fundraising is conducted without changes in valuation, or at a lower valuation compared to the peak period of 2021, this marks a considerable achievement.
In addition to this announcement, Claroty said that it has crossed the $100 million threshold in its annual recurring revenue (ARR) and that its customer base has grown by 300%.
If the company can maintain its current growth rate, and given the current market pricing levels, it could go public in New York at a valuation of about $3.5 billion in the first half of 2025.
Claroty operates in the field of physical protection of cybersecurity systems and Internet of Things (IoT) systems, considered to be one of the least saturated areas in the cybersecurity market.
"An IPO in New York is an important milestone in the company's development. The process has not begun yet, and we don't have a set timeline for the IPO. We'll announce it in due course. In the meantime, we continue to grow rapidly according to our plans," Claroty said in a statement.
Claroty was established in 2015 as the first initiative of Team8, a venture capital fund specializing in company growth. Nadav Zafrir, who heads Team8, is also Claroty's CEO. The company is managed by Yaniv Vardi, who lost his mother after she was murdered in the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Netiv HaAsara in southern Israel. His son, an IDF soldier, was also injured in the battles in communities close to the Gaza border.
Claroty's founding team currently holds various positions in the company: Amir Zilberstein and Beni Porat are members of the company's board of directors, and Galina Antova is the VP of Business Development.
Currently, Claroty employs 533 workers, with 260 of whom living in Israel. Since its inception, Claroty has raised $735 million in funding. In 2021, it raised $400 million, marking one of the largest fundraising rounds held by an Israeli company.
The funds were used to acquire the Israeli company Medigate, specializing in security for medical devices, which introduced Claroty to a new field in the medical sector. The massive round was led by the Japanese investment giant Softbank, followed by the addition of Yossi Cohen, the former head of Softbank's Israeli branch, to Claroty's board of directors.
Claroty's shareholders also include American venture capital fund Bessemer Venture Partners, private equity fund Advent International, Robert Pinkus, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Rockwell, LG, and the investment management corporations of General Motors and BMW.