Israel’s Team8 Locks In $23M For Cybersecurity Firms

Cybersecurity company Team8 announced Tuesday (Feb. 23) that it closed a $23 million funding round.

The funding round adds AT&T, Accenture, Nokia, Mitsui and Temasek to the firm’s existing investor list, which already includes Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Bessemer Venture Partners, Marker LLC and Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors.

“Cybersecurity is a global issue, and collaboration is critical to maintaining an advantage over today’s highly innovative and motivated attackers,” said Nadav Zafrir, Team8 cofounder, said in a press release.

“With the addition of our new strategic investors, we have not only created the world’s strongest cybersyndicate but also the most diverse. We have teamed up with companies from the United States, Europe and Asia who are at the forefront of technology, telecommunications, IT, infrastructure and professional services. Team8 and its investors are all committed to working together to fulfill our vision of building category-leading companies that challenge the biggest problems in cybersecurity,” Zafrir added.

While considered a VC firm, Team8 said it doesn’t simply invest in cybersecurity companies but instead is focused on creating them. The firm leverages its core research group to seek out the best cybertalent and uses its global network of customers, partners and influencers to enhance the company creation process.

“The result: a cyber innovation platform uniquely engineered to create category-leading cybersecurity companies that tackle the biggest problems in cybersecurity and help organizations reclaim the advantage over attackers,” the statement continued.

“Cyberattacks are evolving and are no longer only a CIO, CSO or IT department issue,” explained John Donovan, chief strategy officer and group president of AT&T technology and operations. “Breaches, leaked documents and cyberattacks impact customers, stock prices, brand reputation and competitive edge. This strategic investment is key to not merely iterating but innovating against today’s highly adaptive attacker.”

Israel’s growing startup scene, severe security threats and increasing talent flow from military intelligence units all combine to make the country a potential global cybersecurity power player.

“There is a governmental focus on making Israel a cyberleader, and the prime minister is very involved. I’m optimistic that Israel can become one of the top two cybersecurity hubs in the world,” Zafrir told Entrepreneur last year.