From the 33 startups chosen to participate in Google’s Gemini Startup Forum: Cybersecurity, one-third of them are Israeli, the cyber giant announced on Wednesday.
In total, eight startups were fully developed in Israel, while another three are currently led by Israeli entrepreneurs.
Already known as a global cybersecurity powerhouse, Israel further reinforces its position at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation, especially in a field increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.
This is reflected in the composition of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which has approximately 25% of its total market capitalization invested in cybersecurity companies.
What is Google’s Gemini Startup Forum: Cybersecurity?
The companies were selected to participate in Google’s Gemini Startup Forum: Cybersecurity, an event that will enable them to work with Google’s top experts to develop new autonomous defense solutions.
Other participating companies are from the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Poland, and Spain.
Participants will gain direct access to Google’s most advanced AI infrastructure, language models, and cloud tools, while working closely with experts from Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, and Wiz to build autonomous defense systems capable of handling complex threats.
“The goal of the forum is to accelerate the development of AI-based cybersecurity companies,” Google said in a statement. “The selected startups will be granted direct access to Google’s most advanced infrastructure, tools and language models.”
The 11 startups that will participate in Google’s program
The startups selected specialized in five different areas in the field of cybersecurity: Control and management of AI agents; security and vulnerability management; cloud, network, and infrastructure security; data protection; and SOC automation and offensive security.
Capsule Security is one of the participants, offering a platform that provides real-time protection and behavioral monitoring for autonomous AI agents. Onyx Security, also from the same area of expertise, offers a central control plane for discovering, managing, and monitoring autonomous AI agents in organizations. Alt Security has developed a platform that uses AI agents in the process of intelligence collection and cross-referencing security vulnerabilities to identify critical business risks.
Two companies operate in cloud, network, and infrastructure security, with Native serving as a central security system for companies operating across multiple cloud providers, while QIZ Security manages encryption assets and regulatory requirements, offering a unified panel.
In terms of offensive security, the selected startup is Meta Security, a company that uses AI to decrease the amount of false positives detected by existing security systems.
The three companies led by Israeli entrepreneurs but not based in Israel are Bold Security, Jazz, and ORION Security, all working in data protection and endpoint security.
The prominence of Israeli companies in the cohort indicates that the country’s cybersecurity ecosystem remains at the top. The ecosystem has long been fueled by elite military technology units, a dense network of experienced entrepreneurs, and a culture that encourages rapid experimentation.
Defense strategies that once relied on manual monitoring, static rules, and human‑driven response are rapidly giving way to systems powered by autonomous AI agents. The selection of so many Israeli companies for Google’s new program shows that Israel is not merely adapting to the AI‑security revolution, but it is helping shape it.
