1Password acquires Israeli cyber startup Apono in landmark $250M–$300M deal

Innovation & Technology, Uncategorized

TEL AVIV, Isreal (NPA) Canadian cybersecurity giant 1Password has acquired Israeli startup Apono in a deal valued between $250 million and $300 million, marking its first acquisition in Israel and a significant expansion beyond password management into access governance.

Apono, founded in 2022 by Rom Carmel and Ofir Stein, operates an AI‑powered platform that manages permissions and access to cloud infrastructure. The company eliminates standing permissions by providing dynamic, real‑time access based on business needs and context. Its technology is designed to address the growing challenge of securing both human and non‑human digital identities in the AI era.

All 80 of Apono’s employees, including 50 based in Israel, will join 1Password, which also plans to expand its local operations with new hires. Carmel, who previously held R&D leadership roles in the Prime Minister’s Office cyber division, and Stein, a former Air Force Ofek unit officer and early developer at Logz.io, bring decades of DevOps and cybersecurity experience to the acquisition.

Apono has raised $54 million since inception, with investors including Meron Capital, USVP, 33N Ventures, New Era Capital, and others. In December 2025, the company announced its Series B round, led by USVP and 33N Ventures. Board member Ziv Conen of New Era Capital described Apono’s vision as “securing access for AI agents,” highlighting its role in the next frontier of cybersecurity.

The platform serves Fortune 500 companies and enterprises across the United States, Europe, and Israel, with customers such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Jasper, and Bloomreach. It supports access management across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Snowflake, and Databricks, and integrates with more than 200 enterprise applications including Slack, Jira, PagerDuty, and GitHub.

1Password, valued at approximately $6.8 billion, reported annual recurring revenue of more than $400 million at the end of 2025. The acquisition of Apono strengthens its position in identity and access security, expanding its reach into governance and compliance — areas where Israeli firms like CyberArk and Wiz are already major players.

The deal comes as organizations worldwide adopt artificial intelligence and face a surge in non‑human digital identities. Apono’s system grants access on a just‑in‑time basis and revokes it immediately after tasks are completed, reducing the need for permanent accounts and simplifying deployment.

By acquiring Apono, 1Password positions itself at the forefront of identity security in the AI era, combining its global scale with Israeli innovation to tackle one of cybersecurity’s most pressing challenges.