Israeli cyber unicorn Orca Security is laying off around 60 employees, accounting for approximately 15% of its total workforce, Calcalist has learned. Half of those laid off will be from Israel, and the remainder from locations around the world, including London, Portland, Bangkok, and other offices in the U.S.
Orca, which employs around 430 people, said it plans to offer some of the affected employees to remain in the company in alternative positions.
Since its establishment, Orca Security has raised $640 million and, in its latest fundraising round in 2021, achieved a valuation of $1.8 billion. Among its investors are the Singaporean Temasek fund, YL Ventures, Alphabet’s independent growth fund CapitalG, Redpoint Ventures, GGV, ICONIQ Capital, Lone Pine Capital, Stripes, Adams Street Partners, Willoughby Capital, and Harmony Partners.
Last July, Orca, founded by Check Point veterans, filed a lawsuit against Assaf Rappaport’s Wiz, which he founded with other Adallom veterans. In the lawsuit filed in the District Court of Delaware in the U.S., Orca argued that it has evidence demonstrating that Wiz built its business through willful infringement of Orca’s intellectual property. Orca asserts that it developed and began marketing the product before Wiz, and that Wiz copied its patents.
Orca Security was founded in 2019 by Avi Shua, Gil Geron, Matan Ben Gur, Liran Antebi, Hadas Amitay, Wagde Zabit, Shay Filosof, and Eti Spiegel-Khobra, all of whom are former employees of Check Point.
Orca stated, “Orca has achieved an all-time high in terms of the number of customers, revenue growth of hundreds of percent since the last capital raising, and high customer satisfaction according to surveys. Alongside these accomplishments, including our designation as a global AWS security partner, we, like other companies, are compelled to enhance efficiency during this period. We are currently undergoing a reorganization process, bidding farewell to exceptional individuals who have played a pivotal role in Orca’s success. Depending on the reorganization, some employees may find positions within the company in different capacities. Additionally, Orca continues its expansion and recruitment efforts for growing departments within the company.”
