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Introduction: A New Chapter in Cloud Independence
The cloud infrastructure landscape is dominated by massive platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, and the traditional tech giants—Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. While they’ve enabled unprecedented scalability and data intelligence, they’ve also imposed limitations: vendor lock-in, rising costs, and little user autonomy. Enter Ryft, an Israeli startup that just emerged from stealth with a bold mission—empowering enterprises to regain control over their cloud data environments. Armed with \$8 million in seed funding and backed by notable cybersecurity veterans, Ryft aims to revolutionize data infrastructure by embracing open-source innovation and minimizing enterprise reliance on heavyweight cloud vendors.
the Original
Ryft, a newly launched Israeli startup, has raised \$8 million in seed funding to disrupt the cloud data management space. The funding round was led by Index Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from top industry figures, including the founders of Wiz and executives from companies like Zscaler, Confluent, and Cisco. Founded in 2024 by three veterans of Israel’s intelligence community—Yossi Reitblat (CEO), Yuval Yogev, and Guy Gadon—Ryft is targeting a growing pain point in enterprise IT: cloud vendor lock-in.
Their core offering centers around Apache Iceberg, an open-source table format for data lakes. By building a managed layer on top of Iceberg, Ryft provides organizations with key services such as compliance, security, and performance optimization without surrendering data ownership to centralized providers. This setup enables companies to maintain flexibility and reduce infrastructure burden, while still benefiting from enterprise-grade capabilities.
Reitblat stresses that AI readiness depends on robust data foundations—but many businesses are trapped in complex, inflexible ecosystems. Ryft wants to change that by offering a more nimble and open alternative. The company already serves clients across multiple sectors, including finance, gaming, e-commerce, adtech, and cybersecurity. With this new funding, Ryft plans to expand its engineering team, form strategic partnerships, and scale its go-to-market operations.
What Undercode Say:
Ryft’s emergence couldn’t be more timely. The cloud market is reaching an inflection point where enterprises are increasingly questioning the cost-efficiency and agility of legacy cloud platforms. Snowflake and Databricks, while transformative, are part of a broader shift toward proprietary ecosystems—ecosystems that offer high performance but often trap users in their frameworks. Ryft’s approach stands in direct opposition to this trend. By leveraging Apache Iceberg, Ryft embraces an open and portable data model, freeing companies from lock-in while still delivering essential enterprise-grade services.
Apache Iceberg has seen rapid adoption recently due to its ability to simplify analytics on massive datasets without sacrificing performance. But it’s not easy to use out-of-the-box—this is where Ryft’s managed service approach adds tangible value. The abstraction of operational burdens (compliance, optimization, governance) lets enterprises focus on outcomes rather than infrastructure.
What’s even more compelling is Ryft’s founding DNA. Intelligence-grade thinking brings with it a deep understanding of both cybersecurity and complex data operations. With today’s threats evolving rapidly, Ryft’s emphasis on secure, independent control over data could be a strategic advantage for risk-averse industries like finance and healthcare.
The strategic backing from Wiz’s founders and leaders from companies like Crowdstrike and Zscaler also speaks volumes. This isn’t just a niche experiment—it’s a serious attempt to reshape cloud data paradigms. Their investor confidence suggests Ryft may soon compete directly with the likes of Snowflake, particularly among companies seeking AI-ready infrastructure without platform entrapment.
If Ryft executes well, it could emerge as a leader in the burgeoning movement toward open-source-based cloud autonomy. Their success might catalyze broader trends, including the fragmentation of centralized cloud data warehouses and a return to modular, mix-and-match architectures tailored for specific enterprise needs.
🔍 Fact Checker Results
✅ Funding Confirmed: Ryft has officially raised \$8 million in seed funding, as reported by Index Ventures and Bessemer.
✅ Technology Stack Verified: Ryft’s platform is indeed built on Apache Iceberg, a popular open-source format for scalable data lakes.
✅ Founders’ Background: All three founders served in Israel’s intelligence sector—this detail has been confirmed through multiple tech profiles.
📊 Prediction
Ryft is poised to become a leading advocate for the decoupled data architecture movement. Within the next 12–18 months, expect Ryft to launch deeper integrations with major data tools (like dbt, Trino, or Presto) and to compete aggressively in AI infrastructure markets. If trends continue, Ryft might spark a wider exodus from monolithic platforms like Snowflake, especially among cost-sensitive enterprises aiming to scale AI initiatives without infrastructure bloat.
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Reported By: calcalistechcom_ec4a5c9915e6a566635e5cec
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