Cylake raises $250M convertible for sovereign, AI-native security
What's the deal? Cylake, a cybersecurity startup founded by Palo Alto Networks veteran Nir Zuk, has raised $245 million through a convertible note. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Picture CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Redpoint VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → took part, bringing the Sunnyvale company's total raised to $290 million.
What's the endgame? Cylake is building an AI-native cybersecurity platform designed for full data sovereignty, running entirely on premises or in private cloud rather than public cloud. It targets highly regulated commercial and government organisations that need complete control over data and infrastructure.
Why now? The capital lands ahead of a beta product expected by the end of 2026, with general availability planned for 2027. Cylake has grown to more than 40 employees since emerging from stealth in March 2026, following a $45 million seed round led by Greylock Partners.
The money will fund product development and continued hiring across engineering and product, chief executive officer Nir Zuk said. The company is working with a cohort of design partners ahead of the beta.
Why it matters: Investors frame the bet around a gap left by cloud-era security tools. "Most of the market has been slow to realize how AI and SaaS shifted the goalposts for enterprise cybersecurity," said Ravi Mhatre, partner and co-founder at Lightspeed, who joins Cylake's board of directors. "Cylake identified that gap early and is building the answer."
Zuk argues the architecture itself needs rethinking. "In those cases, the public cloud is not the right operating model," he said. "The architecture needs to be rebuilt around complete data, sovereignty, and control for an AI-native world."
The signal: The size of the raise stands out. Among convertible rounds in artificial intelligence in the US, Cylake's sits above the 99th percentile of all such deals on record, a marker of how aggressively capital is flowing to founders with proven track records targeting regulated buyers wary of the public cloud.
Read more: Business Insider
Image credit: Cylake
