With Wiz sold, Assaf Rappaport, 43, has become one of Israel’s most active private tech investors. A Calcalist investigation found he is now invested – often alongside his fellow Wiz co-founders – in dozens of start-ups, primarily in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
He has also expanded well beyond tech. Through the Merit Spread Foundation, which he backs with his Wiz partners, Rappaport’s group agreed in March 2026 to acquire a 74% stake in Channel 13 from Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries for about $25 million, committing another $100 million to $120m. over three years. The group framed the deal as an “impact investment” meant to secure the channel’s editorial independence. In July, the foundation acquired a 60% stake in the parent company of Israel Bidur.
Rappaport remains the CEO of Wiz, which keeps its brand within Google Cloud.
In 2024, Rappaport turned down Google’s $23 billion offer, betting his company would grow far larger – and he was right. In March 2026, a year after it was announced, Google completed its $32b. all-cash acquisition of Wiz, the largest deal in Google’s history and the largest purchase of a venture-backed start-up. The transaction cleared US regulators in November 2025 and the European Union in February 2026.
The platform Rappaport built uses agentless APIs to map cloud environments, identify security risks, and provide real-time developer feedback. According to Wiz, it became the first CNAPP (cloud-native application protection platform) to “fully integrate native AI security into its platform.”
Founded in 2020, Wiz scaled from roughly $1m. ARR to $100m. ARR in about 18 months – one of the fastest paces on record for a software company.
Rappaport’s straightforward approach convinced Gili Raanan, a prominent Israeli venture capitalist, to invest in the company. According to Calcalist, Raanan recalled calling Rappaport for a meeting and being turned down because the entrepreneur heard he “changes CEOs after meeting them.” “This guy is special,” Raanan said. They eventually met at a gas station and signed their deal on a napkin.
From that napkin-signed seed round to a $32b. exit six years later, Rappaport’s arc marks a point of strength for Israel’s tech sector. In an op-ed for The Jerusalem Post, Dan Perry called the deal a “testament to Israel’s enduring tech prowess and a defiant vote of confidence in a country in crisis.”
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