Is Upwind profitable in 2026?

Upwind is privately held and has not disclosed audited revenue or profit figures as of July 2026. The company claims roughly 900% YoY revenue growth and 200% customer growth in the year to January 26, 2026, but these are vendor-stated, unaudited figures.

Could AI replace Upwind's core product?

Unlikely soon. Upwind's value rests on proprietary live runtime telemetry from eBPF sensors deployed inside customer cloud environments, a data-lock-in asset a generic AI model cannot replicate without the same in-environment deployment and enterprise integrations like AWS Security Hub (added February 26, 2026).

Who owns Upwind and how much funding has it raised?

Upwind is privately owned, founded October 2022 by Amiram Shachar and team. It has raised $430M total across four rounds, most recently a $250M Series B on January 26, 2026 at a $1.5B valuation, backed by Bessemer, Salesforce Ventures, TCV, Greylock and others.

Is Upwind's biggest competitor Wiz?

Yes, Wiz is Upwind's closest direct rival in cloud runtime security, and the threat intensified when Google/Alphabet's roughly $32B acquisition of Wiz closed in November 2025, giving Wiz hyperscaler-level GCP distribution Upwind cannot match.

Did Datadog acquire Upwind?

No. Datadog was reported in advanced talks to acquire Upwind for about $1 billion in July 2025, which would have been Datadog's largest-ever deal, but the acquisition did not close; Upwind instead raised its own $250M Series B in January 2026.

What is Upwind's product and does it use AI?

Upwind builds an eBPF-based runtime-first Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) covering workloads, containers, APIs and networks, claiming up to 95% alert-noise reduction. In 2026 it added AI code-scanning integrations with Cursor and VS Code to check AI-generated code for vulnerabilities.

United States · United States

Upwind

Cloud runtime security vendor using eBPF sensors to catch live workload threats.

Losing its protection

Assessed 30 July 2026 · Evidence as of 30 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 30 July 2026 · Checkable from mid-2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Google's window to fold Wiz's runtime tools natively into GCP distribution

The call

Upwind has real customers and fast growth, but it now competes directly against a Google-owned Wiz and three platform giants selling the same runtime security bundled in.

Upwind sells software that watches what's happening inside cloud systems to spot security problems before hackers exploit them. The company built tools that dig deeper than competitors and lock customers in through tight connections to Amazon and Microsoft clouds, but that advantage is under attack: Google just bought Wiz, a direct rival, for 32 billion dollars, and giants like Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Microsoft are already selling similar products bundled with their other cloud tools at prices Upwind cannot match. The biggest question is whether Upwind stays independent or gets bought, and whether Google will fold Wiz's technology straight into its own cloud platform in the next year, which could squeeze Upwind's ability to win new customers.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. No AI-native rival is named yet; the pressure on Upwind today comes from bundled cloud security suites, not AI agents. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Google (via its $32B Wiz acquisition), Palo Alto Networks (Prisma Cloud), CrowdStrike (Falcon Cloud Security), Microsoft (Defender for Cloud). Google now owns Wiz, and Palo Alto, CrowdStrike, and Microsoft all sell competing runtime cloud security bundled into their platforms. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Deep eBPF sensor integrations with AWS and Azure create switching costs that make ripping Upwind out of a live environment painful.

What would change this call

Google integrates Wiz runtime features natively into GCP within 6-12 months. Would show hyperscaler bundling directly targeting Upwind's core CNAPP niche.
Datadog, Palo Alto, CrowdStrike, or Microsoft renews acquisition talks with Upwind. Would show platform players see Upwind as a bolt-on rather than a durable standalone rival.
Upwind's next funding round priced flat or down versus the $1.5B Series B mark. Would show investor doubt about Upwind holding share against bundled incumbents.

Key numbers

$250M raised at $1.5B valuation (2026-01-26)
482 employees, up about 82% year over year (2026-07-20)
$1B Datadog acquisition offer lapsed (2025-07-23)

Named risks

Google-owned Wiz's hyperscaler distribution could compress Upwind's win rate over the next 6-12 months. Severity: high
Palo Alto, CrowdStrike and Microsoft bundling AI-driven CNAPP features into existing suites may commoditize point solutions like Upwind. Severity: high
No audited revenue disclosure; ~900% YoY growth claim is vendor-stated and unverified. Severity: medium
Headcount scaling 82% YoY to 482 employees by July 2026 may outpace unit-economics maturity. Severity: medium
Renewed acquisition interest (Datadog declined ~$1B in July 2025) could end independence before an IPO path forms. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Wiz (Google-owned)	gaining on	Google closed ~$32B Wiz acquisition Nov 17, 2025, giving Wiz native GCP distribution
CrowdStrike	contesting	Falcon Cloud Security bundling AI-driven runtime and endpoint security as of March 2026
Palo Alto Networks	contesting	Prisma Cloud bundles CNAPP features into existing enterprise security suites
Microsoft	contesting	Defender for Cloud competes directly even as Microsoft partnered with Upwind on Azure runtime security, March 2026
Datadog	contesting	Tried to acquire Upwind for ~$1B in July 2025; remains a rival cloud observability/security platform

Questions people ask

Is Upwind profitable in 2026?: Upwind is privately held and has not disclosed audited revenue or profit figures as of July 2026. The company claims roughly 900% YoY revenue growth and 200% customer growth in the year to January 26, 2026, but these are vendor-stated, unaudited figures.
Could AI replace Upwind's core product?: Unlikely soon. Upwind's value rests on proprietary live runtime telemetry from eBPF sensors deployed inside customer cloud environments, a data-lock-in asset a generic AI model cannot replicate without the same in-environment deployment and enterprise integrations like AWS Security Hub (added February 26, 2026).
Who owns Upwind and how much funding has it raised?: Upwind is privately owned, founded October 2022 by Amiram Shachar and team. It has raised $430M total across four rounds, most recently a $250M Series B on January 26, 2026 at a $1.5B valuation, backed by Bessemer, Salesforce Ventures, TCV, Greylock and others.
Is Upwind's biggest competitor Wiz?: Yes, Wiz is Upwind's closest direct rival in cloud runtime security, and the threat intensified when Google/Alphabet's roughly $32B acquisition of Wiz closed in November 2025, giving Wiz hyperscaler-level GCP distribution Upwind cannot match.
Did Datadog acquire Upwind?: No. Datadog was reported in advanced talks to acquire Upwind for about $1 billion in July 2025, which would have been Datadog's largest-ever deal, but the acquisition did not close; Upwind instead raised its own $250M Series B in January 2026.
What is Upwind's product and does it use AI?: Upwind builds an eBPF-based runtime-first Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) covering workloads, containers, APIs and networks, claiming up to 95% alert-noise reduction. In 2026 it added AI code-scanning integrations with Cursor and VS Code to check AI-generated code for vulnerabilities.

Timeline

2026-03-01Upwind partners with Microsoft to bring runtime security to Azure
2026-02-26Upwind integrates into AWS Security Hub Console
2026-01-26Upwind raises $250M Series B at $1.5B valuation, becomes unicorn
2025-11-17Upwind launches Open Source Security Model; Google's Wiz deal closes (~$32B)
2025-07-23Datadog reported in advanced talks to acquire Upwind for ~$1B; deal lapses
2025-06-12Upwind hires Rinki Sethi (ex-Twitter, Bill.com CISO) as Chief Security/Strategy Officer
2025-04-28Upwind acquires Nyx Security, adds Cloud Application Detection and Response
2024-12Upwind raises $100M Series A extension at ~$800-900M valuation
2023-09Upwind raises $50M Series A
2022-10Upwind founded in San Francisco by Amiram Shachar and team

Revision history

30 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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