Israeli Startups Dominate “Rising in Cyber 2026,” Taking Nearly Half the List

Fourteen Israeli cybersecurity companies have been named in the Rising in Cyber 2026 report, underscoring Israel’s outsized influence in one of the fastest-evolving segments of global technology. The annual list, compiled by U.S. venture capital firm Notable Capital in collaboration with Morgan Stanley, highlights the 30 most promising private cybersecurity startups based on a survey of roughly 150 chief information security officers (CISOs) and senior security executives from leading global enterprises.

The Israeli companies featured include Cyera, Grip Security, Island, Noma Security, Oligo Security, Orca Security, Token Security, Torq, Beacon Security, Clover Security, Descope, Echo Security, Terra Security, and Tonic AI. In addition, the founder of Runlayer is Israeli, meaning Israeli entrepreneurs account for roughly half of the companies selected in this year’s list.

The report arrives at a moment of rapid transformation in cybersecurity, driven largely by artificial intelligence. AI is simultaneously improving and complicating enterprise defense. CISOs report that AI-powered tools, such as automated penetration testing, threat detection, and security operations augmentation—are helping close long-standing talent gaps and improve response speed. However, adoption is far ahead of security maturity.

In a survey of nearly 150 security leaders, 71% said they already operate AI agents in production environments, while only 11% believe they have mature tools to secure those workloads. This widening gap is emerging as one of the most urgent challenges in enterprise security, particularly as AI agents expand across identity systems, applications, and cloud environments.

The report also highlights strong macroeconomic momentum in the sector. According to IDC, the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow from $153 billion in 2025 to $255 billion by 2029, fueled by rising enterprise spending on cloud security, identity and access management (IAM), and application protection. Despite broader economic uncertainty, cybersecurity continues to be one of the most resilient segments in enterprise software.

Capital flows reflect this acceleration. Early-stage funding, particularly Series A and B rounds, accounted for more than half of the $10 billion invested in cybersecurity startups in 2025. Investors are increasingly targeting AI-native companies focused on securing emerging workloads, including 7AI, Adaptive, and Exaforce.

At the same time, the industry is undergoing rapid consolidation. Major acquisitions signal a shift toward platform-driven security stacks. Recent deals include Cisco acquiring Astrix, Palo Alto Networks acquiring Koi and CyberArk, and ServiceNow acquiring Armis. The landmark $32 billion acquisition of Wiz by Google further underscored the strategic value of cloud security, while public players such as CrowdStrike continue to outperform broader software markets.

A key theme across the report is the growing dominance of identity and access management as the central security challenge in the AI era. Around 20% of CISOs identify control over AI-driven identities and permissions as their top near-term concern, as autonomous agents increasingly act on behalf of users and systems.

Oren Yunger, Managing Partner at Notable Capital, said the list reflects technologies already trusted and deployed by leading enterprises, describing AI as a “major disruption” reshaping both innovation and market structure.

Ultimately, Rising in Cyber 2026 portrays a market defined by dual forces: rapid AI-driven innovation and rising systemic risk. As attackers and defenders both adopt AI at scale, CISOs are being forced to rethink not only their tools, but the very architecture of enterprise security.