Ex-Google Cloud CISO Joins Native as Startup Lands $31M Funding Boost

Cybersecurity startup Native has secured $31 million in a Series A funding round led by Ballistic Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, YL Ventures, and Merlin Ventures. These investors had previously backed the company with an initial $11 million investment.

With this latest round, Native’s total funding now stands at $42 million, highlighting strong investor confidence in its approach to solving complex cloud security challenges.

Strengthening Leadership with Industry Expertise

As part of the development, Phil Venables, former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Google Cloud, has joined Native’s board. His addition brings deep industry expertise and reinforces the company’s focus on building enterprise-grade security solutions.

Read more: OpenAI in Talks for $10 Billion Joint Venture with TPG and Bain Capital

Addressing a Growing Cloud Security Challenge

As businesses increasingly adopt cloud infrastructure, managing security across multiple platforms has become a major challenge.

While major cloud providers such as:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Microsoft Azure

• Google Cloud

• Oracle Cloud

offer robust built-in security tools, organizations often struggle to configure and use them effectively.

The complexity increases significantly in multi-cloud environments, where each platform has different:

• Security frameworks

• Identity management systems

• Configuration requirements

This leads to a gap between intended security policies and actual implementation, leaving organizations vulnerable to risks.

Native’s Solution: Turning Intent into Action

Native aims to bridge this gap by offering a centralized platform that automates cloud security configuration.

The platform allows security teams to:

• Define security policies in a unified system

• Automatically translate those policies into cloud-specific configurations

• Enforce them consistently across multiple cloud providers

This ensures that security strategies are not just planned but accurately implemented across all environments.

Founder Vision and Product Innovation

CEO Amit Megiddo, who previously worked on security products at Amazon Web Services, explained the core problem Native is solving.

He noted that while cloud providers have built strong security capabilities, many organizations fail to fully leverage them due to complexity.

Native’s platform addresses this by converting high-level security intent into enforceable configurations, enabling companies to manage security seamlessly across multiple cloud platforms.

Built by Cloud Security Experts

Founded in 2024, Native is led by a team with deep experience in cloud security:

• Amit Megiddo (CEO) – Former product lead for Amazon GuardDuty at AWS

• Gal Ordo (Chief Product Officer) – Former AWS Security product leader

• Eyal Faingold (CTO) – Former Vice President of Cloud Security at Check Point

Their combined expertise positions Native to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in modern cloud infrastructure.

Why This Matters for Enterprises

As organizations continue to migrate to the cloud, security is becoming increasingly complex and critical.

Key challenges include:

• Misconfigured cloud settings

• Lack of visibility across platforms

• Inconsistent policy enforcement

• Operational inefficiencies

Native’s approach helps enterprises:

• Reduce security risks

• Improve compliance

• Streamline operations

• Maximise the value of existing cloud security tools

Rising Demand for Cloud Security Solutions

The funding reflects a broader trend of growing investment in cloud security and cybersecurity startups.

As cyber threats evolve and cloud adoption accelerates, companies are prioritising solutions that offer:

• Automation

• Scalability

• Cross-platform compatibility

Native’s platform aligns with these needs by simplifying how organizations manage security across diverse cloud environments.

What Lies Ahead

With fresh funding and strong investor backing, Native plans to:

• Enhance its product capabilities

• Expand its customer base

• Strengthen its position in the enterprise security market

The addition of experienced leadership and continued product development will likely play a key role in its growth trajectory.

Final Take

Native’s $31 million funding round highlights the urgent need for simplified, automated cloud security solutions in a multi-cloud world.

By turning complex security policies into actionable configurations, the company is addressing a critical gap in enterprise cybersecurity.

As businesses continue to scale across multiple cloud platforms, solutions like Native could become essential in ensuring secure, efficient, and compliant operations.