Torq, a security startup, has raised $1.2 billion

Israeli Cybersecurity Startup Torq Raises $140 Million, Achieves $1.2 Billion Valuation

Israeli cybersecurity startup Torq is set to announce on Sunday that it has raised $140 million in a new funding round, pushing its valuation to $1.2 billion and cementing its status as a unicorn. The Tel Aviv–based company offers an autonomous security operations platform built from the ground up using artificial intelligence.

Torq’s platform uses AI agents to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as processing large volumes of security alerts, enabling security teams to focus on more complex and high-risk threats.

“You don’t want your team to have a huge backlog and use them just to do simple things when you can automate everything,” said Ofer Smadari, Torq’s chief executive officer and co-founder.

Israeli business outlet TheMarker had earlier reported that Torq had reached unicorn status, though the funding amount was not disclosed at the time.

Founded in 2020, Torq initially pursued a different direction before pivoting following the emergence of generative AI, Smadari said. “By the end of 2022, ChatGPT came into our life, and we saw the opportunity to start building agents and AI functionality,” he noted. The company launched its first AI agent for security operations in the summer of 2023. “Now, you can automate and remediate everything,” he added.

The latest funding round is led by Merlin Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Evolution Equity Partners, Notable Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners and Greenfield Partners.

Torq currently employs more than 300 people across Israel and the United States. Smadari and the founding team previously launched Luminate Security in 2017, which was acquired by Symantec Corp. for $250 million less than two years later.

The founders started Torq in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic spread globally. “We said, ‘There is nothing like a big worldwide crisis to build another company,’” Smadari said.