Summary: Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence remain investment priorities this month. According to Gartner research, the implementation of identity threat detection and response (ITDR) is key to identity security. It is predicted that embedded ITDR strategies will be adopted by 90% of enterprises by 2026, a significant jump from the current 5%-20%.

Israeli companies which received investment in December

Israeli merger and acquisition deals in December 2023

1. UserWay Network, Accessibility Artificial Intelligence Technology Company

On December 31, 2023, Calcalist reported that Level Access acquired Accessibility AI technology developer UserWay for US$99 million, and the two companies have signed a final agreement. The acquisition is an all-cash transaction and UserWay shareholders will receive $21.06 per share, a significant premium compared to market price. The transaction is expected to close in early 2024.

UserWay was founded in 2016 and listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in January 2022. UserWay is a full-service provider of digital accessibility software solutions that make websites more accessible and usable for people with disabilities, and its services are used by millions of websites around the world. The company's artificial intelligence technology helps websites, apps and digital documents more easily comply with accessibility regulations.

Headquartered in Arlington, Level Access specializes in web accessibility testing and focuses on providing digital accessibility solutions.

The acquisition aims to combine UserWay’s AI technology and Level Access’ expertise to make digital content more accessible. Following the acquisition, the company will become a privately held company under Level Access and continue to operate under the UserWay brand.

2. Atom Security, Network Security Company

On December 24, 2023, Calcalist reported that Mend.io acquired the Israeli cybersecurity company Atom Security. The acquisition amount is approximately several million dollars.

Atom Security was founded in early 2023 and focuses on cyber risk assessment.

Mend.io (formerly WhiteSource), an Israeli company founded in 2011 to help developers manage open source libraries and mitigate security risks, has raised $122 million in funding to date and made five acquisitions in the past three years.

A 2023 report from Symantec revealed that 74% of enterprise attacks target the application layer. Integrating Atom Security's technology into Mend.io's product line is expected to expand security coverage and reduce the number of irrelevant findings by 60 to 70 percent. Upon completion of this acquisition, Atom Security will join Mend’s cloud native technology division.

3. Spera Security Identity Security Platform

On December 19, 2023, Okta announced the acquisition of Spera Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup focused on identity security. The final amount of the acquisition has not been disclosed, but is estimated to be approximately US$100 million to US$130 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in early February 2024.

Spera specializes in proactive, continuous protection against identity-based attacks, including compromised credentials, social engineering, and phishing. The platform provides tools for identifying and managing risk in cloud and on-premises environments and has raised $10 million prior to the acquisition.

Okta is a well-known identity and access management company in the United States. Its services include threat detection and security posture management. The acquisition of Spera Security is part of Okta’s strategy to strengthen its Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) capabilities and is the identity security giant’s first acquisition in Israel.

Okta believes identity breaches are a prevalent threat vector facing businesses today, with 86% of breaches primarily caused by phishing attacks and other credential abuse, SecurityBrief reported. This includes social engineering attacks, credential stuffing and abuse. According to Gartner research, the implementation of identity threat detection and response (ITDR) is key to identity security. It is predicted that embedded ITDR strategies will be adopted by 90% of enterprises by 2026, a significant jump from the current 5%-20%. Okta's acquisition of Spera Security continues to strengthen its commitment to secure identity products and is consistent with its mission to empower everyone to use any technology in a secure manner.

4. DGN Games, Social and mobile gaming company

On December 14, 2023, according to Indian media Inc42, Indian game company Octro announced the acquisition of DGN Games. The acquisition amount has not been disclosed.

DGN Games is a social and mobile gaming company based in Israel. The company is known for its immersive slot experiences such as Lucky Time Slots and Old Vegas Slots.

Founded in 2006 by Saurabh Aggarwal, Octro is a game development studio that mainly provides users with online entertainment, with games covering more than 200 million players. The product portfolio includes popular games such as Teen Patti, Play Rummy and Octro Poker.

The acquisition enables Octro to expand its presence in key international markets such as Australia and the United States and tap into new demographics to drive growth.

Octro chief financial officer Deepak Goyal said the acquisition will help the company achieve significant cost efficiencies. Additionally, synergies between both companies will provide Octro with access to DGN’s technical expertise and talent pool. The acquisition will also promote the comprehensive strength of the two companies to develop games for global audiences and enhance players' gaming experience.

5. Oolo, Artificial intelligence-driven customer acquisition and monetization decision-making platform

On December 5, 2023, according to techawkng, Appsflyer announced the acquisition of Israeli startup Oolo. The acquisition amount has not been disclosed.

Oolo is an AI-driven platform focused on user acquisition and monetization decisions. The company provides innovative ad measurement solutions to enhance growth strategies, delivering actionable insights and alerts to optimize return on ad spend (ROAS), media revenue and retention.

Israeli unicorn Appsflyer is known for its market measurement, attribution and data analytics.

The acquisition aims to transform AI-driven decision-making in the business, particularly around marketing, growth and monetization strategies. Oolo will operate as oolo by AppsFlyer and be integrated into Appsflyer’s privacy cloud marketplace, a strategic move that is in line with the ongoing integration of AI technology across multiple markets around the world, including Africa. Oolo and Devtodev (Appsflyer acquired Lithuanian gaming and analytics company Devtodev last month) will be among the first applications included in AppsFlyer's recently launched Privacy Cloud.

6. Raftt, Cloud platform service

On December 4, 2023, according to Calcalist, Wiz acquired Israeli cloud platform service company Raftt for tens of millions of dollars.

Raftt was founded in 2020 and focuses on a cloud platform for creating and sharing development environments. It has previously received US$5 million in investment. Raftt focuses on the development process, providing a developer environment that runs in the cloud and enables collaboration while using local IDEs and other tools and workflows. Developers can continue to use their favorite tools and environments while also benefiting from the cloud-based collaboration and environment management provided by Raftt, which helps keep the development process consistent and efficient.

Wiz, a cloud security-focused unicorn company founded about four years ago, is now valued at $10 billion and has annual revenue of more than $250 million. This is its first acquisition since its founding.

The acquisition aims to solve security challenges in software development by combining Raftt's development platform and Wiz's cloud security expertise. Raftt’s team will be joining Wiz, with new product integrations expected to be rolled out soon.