Cyera Acquires AI Startup Ryft for $130 Million to Secure Autonomous Agent Data Access

Cyera acquires Israeli startup Ryft to integrate automated data governance and security for autonomous agents into its $9 billion AI security platform.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 24, 2026, 5:07 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Meir Orbach and Business Wire.

The Strategic Acquisition of Agentic Security Infrastructure

Cyera, a prominent leader in the data security sector, has finalized the acquisition of the two-year-old startup Ryft in a deal valued between $100 million and $130 million. This acquisition is a strategic maneuver designed to bolster Cyera’s "agentic AI" security posture, focusing on the specific vulnerabilities created when autonomous AI agents access enterprise data. Unlike human users, AI agents often shift identities and permissions based on complex delegation chains, necessitating a more dynamic security infrastructure. By incorporating Ryft’s technology, Cyera aims to provide organizations with an automated control plane that manages data authorization and classification in real time, ensuring that the rapid adoption of AI does not compromise corporate data integrity.

Technological Synergy and the Unit 8200 Connection

The acquisition was facilitated by the deep professional history between the two leadership teams, many of whom are veterans of Israel’s elite Unit 8200 intelligence division. Discussions regarding a potential partnership evolved into an acquisition when Cyera CTO Tamar Bar-Ilan visited Israel during the early stages of the current conflict. Ryft CEO Yossi Reitblat noted that while the company was not actively seeking a buyer, the technological alignment and the urgent market demand for AI-centric security made the merger logical. Reitblat is slated to lead Cyera’s new AI security division, bringing a team of approximately 15 experts to oversee the integration of Ryft’s "Iceberg-native" data platform into the broader Cyera ecosystem.

Addressing the Data Governance Gap in AI Adoption

As enterprises increasingly deploy large language models and autonomous tools, the risk of "shadow AI" and improper data access has grown exponentially. Ryft’s platform was specifically developed to allow organizations to maintain full ownership and governance of their data while avoiding the vendor lock-in common with major cloud providers. The technology provides instant traceability, allowing security teams to audit exactly which data points are being utilized by AI systems at any given moment. This level of granular visibility is critical for maintaining compliance with evolving global regulations such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, which emphasizes the need for continuous monito...