Cyber unicorn Cybereason sacks 200 employees, 17% of workforce
Cyber unicorn Cybereason sacks 200 employees, 17% of workforce
This is the second round of layoffs at the company, which parted ways with around 100 employees in June
Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Cybereason is laying off 200 employees, accounting for 17% of its workforce, Calcalist has learned. Most of the employees leaving the company are based abroad, with 50 being headquartered in Israel. Cybereason confirmed that it has embarked on a second round of layoffs but didn't specify how many employees would be leaving the company.
This is the second round of layoffs at Cybereason, which sacked around 100 employees in June. Cybereason is active in over 50 countries across the world, employing a total of 1,500 people prior to the crisis. Last week it was reported that Cybereason is looking for a buyer, but it is believed that is not the case and the company even turned down a significant acquisition offer this past summer.
“This is a difficult decision for us and we are doing the utmost in order to help the employees in this process,” Cybereason said in a statement. “As market conditions have changed significantly and the technology IPO market is effectively closed, companies like ourselves must be financially strict and prioritize financial efficiency over growth. The demand for our technology remains high and we are continuing to build an independent global company with long-term strategic goals.”
Earlier this year, Cybereason confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering that could have valued it at more than $5 billion. Cybereason is backed by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Alphabet Inc's Google Cloud unit, as well as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's investment firm Liberty Strategic Capital.
Cybereason, which was founded in 2012 by three Israeli partners, Lior Div, Yonatan Striem-Amit, and Yossi Naar, was valued at roughly $3 billion when it raised $275 million from investors last year. It has raised nearly $750 million from investors to date.
Cybereason, which competes with other cybersecurity players like CrowdStrike and SentinelOne, builds artificially intelligent software and offers a variety of services including ransomware protection and prevention of malware attacks. Cybereason's software is installed across computers, mobile phones, and other tech systems. The company also created a subsidiary focusing on preventing malicious operations targeting U.S. government agencies.
