answer.
Ben Seri (CTO), Sanaz Yashar (CEO), and Snir Havdala (CPO) lead Zafran Security.
Courtesy: Eric Sultan | Zafran
Zafran Security, a cybersecurity startup founded by an Iranian‑born former intelligence operative, announced a $60 million Series B round on Tuesday.
CEO Sanaz Yashar explained that the funding reflects the accelerating frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks, a trend amplified by the rapid expansion of artificial‑intelligence tools. Zafran’s platform leverages AI‑driven automation to continuously assess and remediate threat exposure across complex enterprise environments.
“The threat landscape is markedly more severe than it was a year ago,” Yashar said in an exclusive interview.
The new capital brings Zafran’s total financing to $130 million since its 2022 launch. While the company did not disclose its post‑money valuation, it reported that annual recurring revenue (ARR) has more than tripled since its $70 million raise in September 2024, underscoring strong market traction.
According to Yashar, the proceeds will fund aggressive talent acquisition, particularly in AI research, threat intelligence, and sales operations, as the firm scales its global customer base.
Menlo Ventures led the round, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Cyberstarts—an early backer of Wiz, which was acquired by Google for $32 billion in March 2025. The involvement of these marquee investors signals confidence in Zafran’s technology stack and its potential to address a widening security gap.
Industry analysts note that AI is reshaping both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. As generative models enable attackers to craft more convincing phishing lures and automate vulnerability discovery, enterprises are turning to AI‑enabled security solutions that can match that speed. Zafran’s approach—integrating real‑time telemetry with predictive analytics—aims to automate containment before breaches mature.
Recent high‑profile transactions illustrate the market’s appetite for AI‑centric security assets. In July 2025, Palo Alto Networks completed a $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk, bolstering its identity‑security portfolio. Such deals reflect a broader strategic shift toward consolidating AI‑powered threat detection and response capabilities.
Zafran’s genesis traces back to a ransomware incident at an Israeli hospital, where investigators observed that fragmented security tools failed to communicate. “If the tools had spoken to each other, the attack could have been stopped,” Yashar recalled.
Yashar, who emigrated from Tehran at age 17, spent 15 years in Israel’s elite Unit 8200—an intelligence unit that has seeded numerous cybersecurity successes. She later led threat‑detection initiatives at FireEye and Mandiant, both of which were acquired by Google in 2022.
Unit 8200 alumni have founded or helped build several industry giants, including Palo Alto Networks, Check Point Software, and CyberArk, underscoring the unit’s reputation as a talent pipeline for the cyber‑defense sector.
Zafran’s client roster spans healthcare, financial services, insurance, technology, and Fortune 500 enterprises, highlighting growing demand for unified, AI‑driven security orchestration across regulated industries.
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