Oak secures $60 million for an AI-focused identity platform.

      Many companies still struggle to identify who or what has access to their systems at any given time. Oak, an Israeli startup, has secured $60 million to address this issue, believing that AI agents intensify the urgency of the problem. The company emerged from stealth mode with this seed funding, aiming to create an "identity operating system": a unified control plane that manages every identity within a company, including humans, machines, and AI agents.

      The focus on identity is crucial. It serves as the primary entry point for any organization, making it an appealing target for attackers. However, most companies rely on a jumble of outdated tools designed for human users and slow systems. The influx of machine and agent accounts has left them struggling to keep up.

      Oak aims to replace this disjointed approach. Its software integrates with any system, creating a real-time map of every identity based on actual behavior, while eliminating unused access rights. This process occurs continuously rather than during an annual review.

      The success of this venture relies heavily on the team. CEO Shai Morag, a seasoned entrepreneur, has founded and sold three security firms, including Ermetic, which was acquired by Tenable for $265 million in 2023, according to TechCrunch. His total exits amount to approximately $500 million. "Our vision is to emerge as a major player," Morag stated, expressing to his wife that Oak would be his final company. "It’s all or nothing."

      The funding was co-led by Accel, Greylock, and CRV, with the news first reported by Calcalist. This stands as one of the largest seed rounds for an Israeli cybersecurity firm. Oak currently employs around 50 people and has several paying enterprise clients.

      Oak is not alone in this endeavor. The realm of identity has become a highly sought-after sector of security, with major players taking notice. Recently, Palo Alto Networks announced its intention to acquire CyberArk, highlighting the value of this category.

      The impetus behind this movement is AI. As agents begin to operate autonomously, the industry is racing to devise ways to establish identities for them. Researchers have already managed to coax agents into divulging sensitive code and even facilitating ransomware attacks. Companies are hurrying to exert control over these bots before the situation escalates.

      Oak believes that all, from employee logins to Alexa-like assistants, will ultimately be unified under one framework. Morag predicts that the frontrunners in this space could be valued in the "tens and even hundreds of billions."