The transition to cloud infrastructure has enabled companies to do things that they never could have done prior, but with great powers comes many new problems that security teams are not yet adapt to operate. One of the main issues facing the greatest of cloud minds these days is the authorization issue, resulting in developers constantly turning to DevOps with every single security permission. A new Israeli startup called Solvo wants to empower programmers without damaging organizational structure, and without having to deal with it all. Despite the startup being birthed just a few months ago, it has already secured Seed funding.

Forget learning anything about security, you’ll never need need to permission again

Solvo lurks in the background while the programmer writes his code. Once the code is pushed, the system kicks in and analyzes the applications and infrastructures that it uses. Solvo utilizes a least-privilege security approach, which means that the lowest level of authorizations are provided in order to get the job done. This way, programmers can simply program, while Solvo’s platform keeps a watching eye on the cloud authentication front. The system integrates with leading cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Solvo was founded by CEO Shira Shamban and CTO David Hendri. The two previously worked together at Dome9, which was acquired in 2018 by Check Point for $175 million. In a conversation with Geektime Shamban tells that Solvo was founded in April 2020, during the first global COVID wave. Not long after establishing the new startup, the company announced a Seed funding round valued at $3 million. The investment was led by TLV Partners, with participation from Surround Ventures and private investors.

There are many startups, even Israeli ones, that operate in the cloud permission landscape, but Shamban claims that their product comes from an entirely different place. “In other solutions, programmers are not necessarily part of the cloud infrastructure, but the world is moving towards programmers having additional responsibilities.”

Nevertheless, Shamban claims that programmers don’t always enjoy the expansion of authority. “This current approach where programmers are at the core of security is extremely innovative, and we created Solvo so that it would easily integrate into the workflow and systems used by programmers.”

“The main problem that Solvo solves is a growing market trend - moving the code security and cloud authorization responsibilities from DevOps teams to programmers,” explains Shahar Tzafrir Managing Partner at TLV Partners. He also added that the investment was decided following positive reviews: “The ecstatic reviews coming from potential customers only cemented the solution’s demand, and paired with the unique ability of the team to step up fast with a solution - we quickly jumped on the investment train and offered Seed funding - and we are even more excited that they picked us.”

Tzafrir also reveals that COVID reality has been challenging for the VC fund, which Solvo's Seed round was its first dip into the remote investing waters: “It’s a different experience on so many levels, for both investors and entrepreneurs, resulting in a demand for even more trust between the parties. Though with the bad, the current landscape and medium also highlight some important talking points. They highlight the entrepreneur’s ambition, message, perspective, and with Solvo, these strengths became clear almost immediately.”