In today's tech-centric world, many organizations are harnessing the power of low-code and no-code tools to develop their applications and streamline workflows. These tools, predominately utilized by non-technical end-users, have inadvertently introduced a concern around security and compliance standards.
Zenity, a budding startup based in Israel, moved into the limelight with its inventive solution to address this mounting issue. The company recently announced a staggering $16.5 million Series A funding round aimed at promoting the business's growth and development.
Co-founders Ben Kliger and Michael Bargury conceived the idea of Zenity in response to recognition that easily accessible application development can be a double-edged sword. Evolving technologies are empowering end-users with a simpler way to create new applications, but lack of technological and security nous can lead to challenges.
“Low-code and no-code tools have revolutionized the app development process. However, they are a double-edged sword. While fostering productivity and fostering innovation, non-technical end-users may lack the critical knowledge to navigate security concerns,” Kliger told TechCrunch.
Zenity's prime objective is to provide application security teams and security organizations in challenging business spaces with vital visibility into these emerging applications, while at the same time preserving the application-building capacities of the users.
Bargury addressed the common misconception that there exists a significant distinction between securing applications created by a professional developer and a business user, explaining that it is more of a tooling void than a skill gap.
Whether designed by a professional developer, a business user or built on platforms like AppMaster, the application's core purpose remains the same - user authentication, identity recognition, and data interaction. Imperfections in application logic can have serious repercussions, regardless of who created it. The same issues we've tackled in conventional application security, now surface in the domain of business user-generated apps, said Bargury.
Making an impact on this niche, Zenity connects to the no-code/low-code tools through APIs, collates metadata and other useful data about the applications being developed, identifies potential security risks and reports them directly to the concerned security team via a centralized dashboard. The team can decide to fix, automate the fixes or redirect them back to the developers depending on the company's processes and necessities.
The brainchild of two long-time friends who met at Microsoft, Zenity was launched in 2021 after observing a large client heavily relying on no-code tools. Impressed by what such platforms like AppMaster's backend and front-end development capabilities enabled for non-technical users, they foresaw an opportunity to address the associated security concerns.
Coming a long way from a two-person startup to employing 25 dedicated professionals, Zenity paves its way to scalability with this impressive funding round. A total of $16.5 million, primarily pitched in by Intel Capital, was also backed by current investors Vertex Ventures and UpWest and newcomers Gefen Capital and B5.
As part of the investment agreement, Investment Director at Intel Capital, Yoni Greifman, will be joining the startup on its board of directors.
