Israeli cybersecurity company Zenity cofounder and CEO Ben Kliger is 38 and married with two children.
Childhood and family: I was born and raised in Ramat Gan, the middle child of three brothers, one ten years older and one two years younger. My father was a real estate developer, so I grew up amid business conversations at Friday dinner. My mother worked in public relations and later for charity organizations. At school, I was a nerd but very opinionated. I studied in a science stream that included chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science. I invested a lot in my studies, and at home they pushed for excellence.
Sports and classical music: At the same time, I played classical music on the piano, I especially liked Chopin and Rachmaninoff. I also played basketball at the Ramat Gan Municipal School, and after I was injured, I switched to competitive swimming and water polo.
Army and studies: I enlisted as a systems operator for (IDF intelligence unit) 8200 and after about two years I moved onto to cybersecurity. I felt that I was involved in national security and saving lives. I signed on for another year, not as an officer. My team won the 8200 Commander's Prize, which was awarded to us by Nadav Zafrir, now CEO of Check Point. I remember this service as one of the most satisfying periods. Immediately after my discharge, I moved to work for about a year at the Prime Minister's Office. At the same time, I completed a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and management at Tel Aviv University.
Deloitte: From the Prime Minister's Office, I moved to consulting and accounting firm Deloitte. I was involved in installing data security systems and penetration testing in Israeli and global organizations. I was exposed to cybersecurity in the civilian world and learned how to manage cybersecurity in large companies. The two years there was a leap forward for me.
Startup: In 2014, I started working as a product manager at the startup Fortscale, which examined user and entity behavior to identify cybersecurity threats. I was among the first 20 employees, and for two years, working crazy hours and in a chaotic competitive environment, I learned what startups could offer as cybersecurity solutions.
Microsoft: I knew I wanted to start a business, but I realized I needed to understand the full picture with a job at a large US corporation, and I was accepted into a product manager position in the world of cloud security at Microsoft. I was promoted to managing a group of product managers and led one of the company's first products in the field. It was a crazy schooling, and I saw how a huge organization moves in a changing world. I learned from my managers, including Assaf Rappaport and Yinon Costica (later the founders of Wiz) how to model an organization, how to set a goal and reach it. At the same time, I studied for an MBA with a specialization in finance, accounting and technological entrepreneurship.
Zenity: In 2021, after five and a half years at Microsoft, I left, and started thinking with Michael Bargury, who worked with me, about starting a company. It was a crazy year in high-tech and everything happened so quickly. Within a few months we received funding and were off and running with protection for low-code and no-code applications (which do not require programming). From there, the road to today's product was already short.
The product: Zenity is the world's first and leading company for securing AI agents, which connect to all systems and can operate autonomously. Most large enterprises are already far into the process of installing agents but are having a hard time controlling them. We are here to make sure they don't go crazy and that hackers don't take over and make them do things they shouldn't. It's spreading like wildfire. We're seeing millions of agents in every organization.
The numbers: We have about 230 employees, about 150 of whom are in Israel. Israeli activity focuses on development, product management, vulnerability research, and AI research. There are about 80 more employees in the US, mainly in marketing, sales and business development. The company records revenue of tens of millions of dollars annually, and we work mainly with Fortune 500 customers. We have raised about $60 million so far from Intel Capital, Upwest Ventures, Vortex, DTCP and Third Point Ventures.
Relocation: In 2023 I moved to New York to be closer to the biggest customers on the East Coast. My parents and friends are in Israel and we will definitely return. There is no question about that.
Leisure: I never miss a Manchester United game, I support Hapoel Tel Aviv, and when I have time I go to Knicks games. I am also a gamer, although now I have less time for it. It is always nice to beat my friends in Israel at FIFA.
Looking to the future: The aim is to ring the bell on the Nasdaq. When they talk in five to ten years about cybersecurity companies that came out of Israel, I want them to mention us in the same breath as Check Point, Wiz, and Cato Networks.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 24, 2026.
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