From an idea in stealth to acquisition — the journey of NYX and the future with Upwind
Fourteen months ago, my partner Gili Yankovitch and I started working on a bold idea: what if we could help security & appsec teams with better prioritization of their risks and detect not just what code should run, but what code actually does run — at the function level — in real-time?
We weren’t sure it would work. Our early experiments were messy, our hypothesis unproven. But we kept going.
As we pushed forward, tested, failed, refined — the signal got stronger. Eventually, it clicked. We had built a runtime technology that could truly observe active functions and code in use, offering a level of precision we hadn’t seen in the market. Once we validated it, we asked ourselves the big question:
Now what?
We scanned the landscape — and it was clear. The cloud security space was crowded, competitive, and dominated by large, well-funded players. But we knew we had something different. A core capability that could give any CNAPP player a meaningful edge and stronger positioning, because CNAPP is the platform for cloud security teams, and it will keep expanding.
We reached out to the leading cloud security companies. We showed them what we had built. The reactions were incredible. Sooner than we thought, offers started coming in, asking us to join forces and incorporate our technology in something much bigger to solve bigger and more meaningful problems. But there was something unique about the culture fit and product fit with Upwind, which left us no doubt but to join the giant runtime-focused vision Upwind started.
Why Upwind?
Upwind stood out from the very first conversation.
They were the only runtime-first company we met. While most vendors in cloud security are still built around static posture, configuration drift, and snapshot-based scanning, while Upwind flipped the model. They started from the inside out: from actual runtime activity, process behavior, and in-use function visibility. That foundation matched perfectly with NYX’s vision and technology. It wasn’t just a fit — it was a continuation of what we had already begun to build.
But it went far beyond technical alignment.
Upwind is positioned to lead in a noisy, crowded market. While others are retrofitting legacy architectures to handle real-time environments, Upwind was born in the world of containers, ephemeral workloads, and modern infrastructure. Upwind’s architecture is native to the way the cloud works today — and the way it’s evolving tomorrow.
We also saw a company with strong product-market fit. Customers weren’t just trying Upwind — they were advocating for it. The platform resonated across DevOps, security, and platform teams alike. It was clear that Upwind was solving real problems that others in the space were dancing around.
Then there was the team. A unique combination of strong technical depth and crisp, effective execution. We met product leaders who could go toe-to-toe with us on low-level runtime internals, and sales leaders who knew how to position it to the enterprise buyer. There was no fluff — just clarity, conviction, and momentum.
And finally, the culture.
Upwind moves fast, but thoughtfully. It’s still lean enough to be scrappy, but structured enough to operate at scale. Decisions happen quickly, collaboration is tight, and everyone is focused on one thing: delivering value to customers. That kind of agility is rare — and incredibly valuable when you’re bringing in new technology like NYX. We knew we could integrate, iterate, and ship — not in quarters, but in weeks.
In short, Upwind had everything we were looking for:
- A shared technical philosophy
- A strong product in the market
- A forward-thinking roadmap
- A team we trust
- And a culture that moves with urgency and clarity
For us, joining Upwind wasn’t just a landing — it was a launchpad.
This Black Hat, Upwind unveiled the “In-Use Functions” capability — powered by NYX’s technology. It’s the feature we always dreamed of, now live in a production-grade platform, making a real difference for customers.
The journey behind the scenes was intense, collaborative, and honestly, a lot of fun. For us, it marks the closing of one circle — and the opening of a much bigger one.
We’re just getting started.
Be sure to check it out and stay tuned – Up and Upwind!
