# Lior Yaari

> Lior Yaari is the Boston-based co-founder and CEO of Grip Security, a cybersecurity company focused on discovering and governing the SaaS and AI tools employees adopt beyond traditional IT oversight. His path runs from six years as an officer and cyber-training leader in Israel's Unit 8200 through automotive vulnerability research, embedded-security consulting, and a CTO role at cybersecurity investor YL Ventures. He founded Grip with former military colleagues Idan Fast and Alon Shenkler, raised a $41 million Series B in 2023, and now argues that identity - not the corporate network - is the practical control point for modern enterprise security.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Grip Security
- **Organizations:** Grip Security, YL Ventures, Imperium Security, CYMOTIVE Technologies, Israeli Intelligence Corps Unit 8200, Forbes Technology Council
- **Education:** B.Sc. in Computer Science, magna cum laude, The Open University of Israel
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Grip Security., Raised a $41 million Series B for Grip Security in 2023, bringing the company's disclosed total funding to $66 million., Named to Forbes Israel's 2022 30 Under 30 list with co-founders Idan Fast and Alon Shenkler.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2019** — Served for six years as an officer in the Israeli military cyber corps, including leadership of cyber training in Unit 8200.
- **2017** — Received the Open University of Israel President's List award for academic excellence.
- **2019** — Worked as a vulnerability researcher at CYMOTIVE Technologies, specializing in vehicle ECUs and automotive cyberattacks; also founded embedded-security consultancy Imperium Security.
- **2019** — Spoke on modern automotive attack surfaces at HITB GSEC and was described by the event as the youngest speaker at Israel Cyber Week 2019.
- **2020** — Joined cybersecurity venture firm YL Ventures as CTO to lead technical research, advise founders, and evaluate security investments.
- **2020-2021** — Co-founded Grip Security with Idan Fast and Alon Shenkler to address shadow SaaS and identity risk; the company publicly launched with a $6 million seed round in 2021.
- **2022** — Named with his Grip co-founders to Forbes Israel's 30 Under 30 list; Grip raised a $19 million Series A.
- **2023** — Grip Security raised a $41 million Series B led by Third Point Ventures, bringing disclosed total funding to $66 million.
- **2024** — Expanded his public focus from shadow SaaS to shadow AI, arguing for security strategies that preserve employee-led innovation.
- **2025** — Discussed identity debt, proactive identity governance, and generative-AI risk on CyberArk's Security Matters podcast.
- **2026** — Published analysis on the shift from AI adoption to AI operations and continued positioning Grip around AI security and trusted-access risk.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Grip Security.
- Raised a $41 million Series B for Grip Security in 2023, bringing the company's disclosed total funding to $66 million.
- Named to Forbes Israel's 2022 30 Under 30 list with co-founders Idan Fast and Alon Shenkler.
- Served as CTO of cybersecurity-focused venture firm YL Ventures.
- Led cyber training in the Israeli Intelligence Corps' Unit 8200.
- Earned a B.Sc. in Computer Science magna cum laude from the Open University of Israel.
- Presented research on automotive attack surfaces at international security conferences.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Welcomed Asaf Shoshani back to Grip Security as VP of Products, with a focus on the company's next generation of AI-security capabilities.
- **2026-03** — Published 'From AI Adoption to AI Operations 2026: What the Data Is Telling Us' on LinkedIn.
- **2025-04** — Appeared on the Security Matters podcast to discuss identity debt, SaaS applications, and generative-AI risk.
- **2025-02** — Announced an expanded SaaS security platform that added configuration management and SSPM capabilities.
- **2024-11** — Promoted Grip Security's SailPoint integration for discovering and governing SaaS applications beyond IT's known inventory.

## Links

- Website: https://www.grip.security
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lioryaari
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/lior_yaari

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/lior-yaari
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26