# Amiram Shachar

> Amiram Shachar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Upwind Security, a cloud-native security unicorn valued at $1.5 billion after its $250M Series B in January 2026. A serial entrepreneur with deep IDF Mamram roots, he previously founded Spot.io - sold to NetApp for $450M - before returning to build a runtime-first CNAPP platform that cuts security alert noise by 98%. He leads a team of ~350 people from San Francisco and Tel Aviv.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Upwind Security
- **Organizations:** Upwind Security, Spot.io (Spotinst), NetApp (Spot by NetApp), Ybrant Digital
- **From:** Israel
- **Nationality:** Israeli
- **Education:** BSc in Computer Science, The College of Management Academic Studies
- **Known for:** Founded Spot.io from a college final project and grew it to a $450M acquisition by NetApp, Co-founded Upwind Security and achieved unicorn status ($1.5B valuation) in under 3 years, Raised $558M total funding across both companies

## Career timeline

- **2008-2012** — Served in IDF Mamram (Center of Computing and Information Systems) as Team Leader for Linux Kernel; managed military data center infrastructure and led first virtualization implementation in IDF
- **2012-2014** — Director of Development Operations at Ybrant Digital
- **2015** — Founded Spot.io (Spotinst) - cloud infrastructure optimization - originally as a college final project
- **2020-2021** — Spot.io acquired by NetApp for $450 million; became VP & General Manager, Spot by NetApp
- **2022** — Co-founded Upwind Security with former Spot.io colleagues Liran Polak, Lavi Ferdman, and Tal Zuri
- **2024** — Upwind raises Series A $100M; achieves 900% year-over-year revenue growth
- **2025** — Spoke at RSA Conference, Cybertech New York; Upwind launched in AWS Security Hub Console
- **2026-01** — Upwind Security raises $250M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners at $1.5B valuation, achieving unicorn status

## Achievements

- Founded Spot.io from a college final project and grew it to a $450M acquisition by NetApp
- Co-founded Upwind Security and achieved unicorn status ($1.5B valuation) in under 3 years
- Raised $558M total funding across both companies
- Achieved 900% year-over-year revenue growth at Upwind Security
- Selected for elite IDF Mamram unit (top 1% of military recruits) at age 18
- Led first virtualization implementation in the Israel Defense Forces
- Attracted NBA stars Steph Curry and Omri Casspi as early Upwind investors
- Built Upwind's CNAPP platform achieving 98% reduction in security alerts for customers

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Upwind Security raises $250M Series B at $1.5B valuation led by Bessemer Venture Partners, achieving unicorn status
- **2025-06** — Speaking at RSA Conference and Cybertech New York on runtime security and CNAPP evolution
- **2025-02** — Upwind Security goes live in AWS Security Hub Console
- **2024-11** — Invested in PointFive Series A funding round
- **2024-06** — Featured on CyberBytes Podcast RSA 2024 Edition discussing cloud-native security
- **2024-05** — Appeared on ModernCTO Podcast #466 discussing being a great tech CEO

## Links

- Website: https://upwind.io
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/amirams
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/upwindsecurity
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/upwindsec

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/amiram-shachar
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27