Photo: TechCrunch / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
TEL AVIV, Israel – Vanta, the U.S. compliance and security software company, said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pillar Security, an Israeli startup that protects AI agents. The deal is valued at about $150 million in cash and shares, according to Israeli business reports; the companies did not disclose the price in their announcement. It has been signed but not completed.
The photograph shows Vanta co-founder and CEO Christina Cacioppo at a 2024 conference. It is an archival photo, not related to the signing.
Pillar, founded in 2023 by Ziv Karliner and Dor Sarig, offers a platform to discover, test, secure and govern AI agents. After the acquisition closes, Pillar is expected to become Vanta’s research and development center in Israel, with its team of more than 20 employees joining it. Both founders are expected to stay and lead the AI security business. Pillar has raised about $9 million since its start, including a seed round in April 2025.
“Customers, regulators and auditors want proof that a company’s AI does what it says on the tin,” Cacioppo said. “A policy document doesn’t get you there. Pillar Security lets companies test their agents and stop them when they go out of bounds, and Vanta turns all of that into evidence.” Karliner said the two companies will make AI security “a built-in part of every company’s governance program.”
Vanta plans to fold Pillar’s tools into its platform in stages through 2027, starting with an AI inventory and runtime monitoring in January 2027, red-teaming in spring 2027 and runtime enforcement in summer 2027. Vanta said it now serves more than 20,000 customers, up from 16,000 in the first quarter of 2026, and reported in April that its annual recurring revenue passed $300 million. Pillar is Vanta’s third acquisition.
Why it matters: companies are deploying AI agents faster than they can govern them, and the deal adds another Israeli cybersecurity startup to U.S. buyers’ shopping lists. Still unknown: the final price and terms from the companies, the closing date, and any conditions to closing.
JBizNews Desk | Tel Aviv, Israel
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