Palo Alto Networks, undeterred by the ongoing war in Gaza, has solidified its presence in the Israeli cybersecurity sector with another major acquisition, following its recent purchase of Dig Security. The latest addition to its portfolio is Talon Cyber Security, the developer of a corporate browser, in a deal estimated to be valued at approximately $625 million. This marks Palo Alto Networks’ most substantial investment in Israel this year, with a combined total of approximately one billion dollars spent on the acquisitions of Dig Security and Talon Cyber Security.
As part of this significant deal, the 130 employees of Talon Cyber Security are expected to receive substantial compensation ranging from $70-80 million, translating to a remarkable number of employees earning over one million dollars each. In their previous fundraising round, the company had achieved a valuation of $350 million, ensuring a substantial return for all its investors, a departure from recent trends where late-stage investors often failed to reap profits.
Notably, Ofer Ben-Noon, one of the co-founders of Talon Cyber Security, is celebrating his second major exit, having previously sold the cybersecurity company Argus to the German automotive giant Continental AG in 2017 for approximately $350 million. This latest achievement brings his total earnings from these two exits to approximately $1 billion within a span of just six years. On the other hand, Ohad Bobrov, the other co-founder of Talon Cyber Security, previously founded Lacon Security, which was acquired by Check Point in 2015 for around $100 million.
Talon Cyber Security, established in 2021, currently boasts a workforce of 130 employees, with 85 based in Israel and the remainder in the United States. Despite the acquisition, its major competitor, Island, co-founded by entrepreneurs Dan Amiga and Michael Fay, maintains a substantial valuation of $1.5 billion, solidifying its position as the leading independent company in the sector. However, it is expected to face fierce competition from Palo Alto Networks in the future.
Talon Cyber Security had previously secured a total of $126 million in funding, including a $100 million Series A round in August 2022. The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from Ballistic Ventures, CrowdStrike’s Falcon Fund, Merlin Ventures, SYN Ventures, and previous investors such as CrowdStrike co-founder and CEO George Kurtz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sorenson Ventures, and Team8. Notably, Liran Grinberg, co-founder and Managing Partner of Team8, has been an integral part of Talon’s board, alongside fellow Team8 co-founder Nadav Zafrir, since the company’s inception.
The flagship product of Talon Cyber Security, the TalonWork browser, simplifies endpoint security by providing a secure access point to corporate applications and data on any device, whether managed or unmanaged, and on any operating system. Security teams can benefit from enhanced visibility into browser and application activities, alongside native security features such as authentication, data loss prevention, and Zero Trust controls.
Palo Alto Networks, founded in 2005 by Israeli entrepreneur Nir Zuk, is a formidable player in the cybersecurity industry, with a current market cap of $75 billion on Wall Street, making it the world’s largest cybersecurity company in terms of market capitalization. The company’s Israeli R&D center, the second largest outside of its California headquarters, focuses primarily on the development of core products, including Cortex, which automates cyber incident management, and Prisma, designed for cloud security.
