CrowdStrike vs Snyk: Founders, CEOs and History
CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston and is led by George Kurtz. Snyk was founded in 2015 by Guy Podjarny, Assaf Hefetz, Danny Grander and is led by Kenneth MacAskill (Interim CEO).
Company facts
CrowdStrike
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
- Current CEO
- George Kurtz
- Employees
- 10,698
Snyk
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom
- Current CEO
- Kenneth MacAskill (Interim CEO)
- Employees
- 990
Founders
CrowdStrike
George Kurtz
George Kurtz co-founded CrowdStrike in 2011 and has served as CEO since then, later also taking the title of president. He pushed the company to replace signature-based antivirus with a cloud-native, behavior-based platform.
Dmitri Alperovitch
Dmitri Alperovitch co-founded CrowdStrike and served as its chief technology officer, building its threat intelligence practice and adversary-naming approach (for example "Fancy Bear" and "Cozy Bear").
Gregg Marston
Gregg Marston co-founded CrowdStrike in 2011 alongside George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch.
Snyk
Guy Podjarny
Guy Podjarny co-founded Snyk in 2015 and was its CEO until July 2019, when Peter McKay took over and Podjarny became president and chairman. He later founded AI-native software development startup Tessl.
Assaf Hefetz
Assaf Hefetz co-founded Snyk in 2015 alongside Guy Podjarny and Danny Grander. A highly elite cybersecurity researcher, he recognized that the massive explosion in open-source software libraries meant that developers were accidentally importing millions of sev…
Danny Grander
Danny Grander co-founded Snyk in 2015. Bringing absolutely critical, deep technical expertise in software exploitation, he built the foundational vulnerability database that Snyk relies on.
CEOs and their tenures
CrowdStrike
- George Kurtz2011–present
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer
As Co-Founder and CEO, he pioneered the massive shift from legacy, signature-based antivirus (like his former company McAfee) to highly advanced, AI-driven cloud endpoint protection.
Source - Dmitri Alperovitch2011–2020
Co-Founder
Dmitri Alperovitch co-founded CrowdStrike in 2011 and served as its Chief Technology Officer until 2020. He was fundamental in designing the Falcon platform's cloud-native architecture and establishing the company's renowned threat intelligence capabilities.
Source - Burt Podbere2015–present
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO, he attempts to minimize the severe financial liabilities and potential massive customer churn resulting from the catastrophic 2024 global IT outage.
Source
Snyk
- Guy Podjarny2015–present
Co-Founder; CEO 2015-2019; Chairman
As the visionary Co-Founder and original CEO, he completely invented the 'developer-first' security movement, proving that engineers will fix vulnerabilities if you give them the right automated tools.
Source - Peter McKay2019–2026
CEO
Former Veeam co-CEO who led Snyk from 2019, through its 2021-2022 mega-rounds, to over $300M in revenue. He announced his exit in February 2026, left the board on May 15, 2026 and moved to an advisory role.
Source - Kenneth MacAskill2026–present
Interim CEO (also CFO)
As CFO, he acts as the highly disciplined financial anchor, pushing the hyper-growth startup toward actual profitability in preparation for a highly anticipated IPO.
Source
Timeline: CrowdStrike and Snyk side by side
2011CrowdStrike
Company Founded
George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston founded CrowdStrike to build a cloud-native alternative to signature-based antivirus.
2013CrowdStrike
Falcon Platform Launches
CrowdStrike launched its Falcon endpoint platform, built around a lightweight sensor that streams behavioral data to the cloud.
2015Snyk
Snyk founded
Guy Podjarny, Assaf Hefetz and Danny Grander founded Snyk to find and fix vulnerable open-source dependencies.
2016CrowdStrike
DNC Breach Investigation
CrowdStrike investigated the Democratic National Committee breach and attributed it to Russian state-linked groups it calls Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear.
2017CrowdStrike
Series D at $1 Billion Valuation
CrowdStrike raised $100 million in May 2017 at a valuation of more than $1 billion.
2019CrowdStrike
Nasdaq IPO
CrowdStrike listed on Nasdaq under ticker CRWD in June 2019, pricing shares at $34 and raising about $612 million.
2019Snyk
Peter McKay becomes CEO
Former Veeam co-CEO Peter McKay succeeded Guy Podjarny as CEO; Podjarny became president and chairman.
2020CrowdStrike
Preempt Security Acquired
CrowdStrike bought the identity-security company Preempt Security in 2020 for about $96 million.
2020Snyk
DeepCode acquisition
Snyk acquired Zurich-based DeepCode, whose AI code analysis became Snyk Code.
2021CrowdStrike
Humio Acquisition and Move to Austin
CrowdStrike bought log-management company Humio for about $400 million (later Falcon LogScale) and moved its headquarters from Sunnyvale, California to Austin, Texas.
2021Snyk
$8.5B peak valuation
Snyk raised a $530 million Series F at an $8.5 billion valuation.
2022Snyk
$196.5M Series G at $7.4B
Snyk raised its last disclosed round at a lower $7.4 billion valuation and cut about 14% of staff.
2023CrowdStrike
Charlotte AI Introduced
CrowdStrike introduced Charlotte AI, a generative AI security assistant built into the Falcon platform.
2023CrowdStrike
Acquired Bionic
CrowdStrike Holdings acquired Bionic.
2023Snyk
Acquired Enso Security
Snyk acquired Enso Security.
2024CrowdStrike
S&P 500 Inclusion and July Outage
CrowdStrike joined the S&P 500 in June 2024. On July 19, 2024 a faulty Channel File 291 content update crashed about 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide.
2025CrowdStrike
Acquired Pangea
CrowdStrike Holdings acquired Pangea.
2025Snyk
Invariant Labs acquisition
Snyk bought AI agent security research firm Invariant Labs; full-year revenue rose 11% to $309.2 million.
2026CrowdStrike
$5 Billion ARR, Acquisitions, and Stock Split
CrowdStrike ended fiscal 2026 with $5.25 billion of ARR, agreed to buy SGNL ($740 million) and Seraphic in January 2026, and completed a 4-for-1 stock split on July 2, 2026.
2026Snyk
CEO transition
Peter McKay stepped down, CFO Kenneth MacAskill became interim CEO and Guy Podjarny returned as chairman.
Acquisitions
CrowdStrike
- SGNL2026$740M
- Seraphic Security2026Undisclosed
- Pangea2025Undisclosed
- Flow Security2024Undisclosed
- Bionic2023Undisclosed
- Humio (Falcon LogScale)2021$400M
Snyk
- Invariant Labs2025Undisclosed
- Enso Security2023Undisclosed
- DeepCode2020Undisclosed
Questions about CrowdStrike vs Snyk
Who is the CEO of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Snyk?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is led by George Kurtz and Snyk is led by Kenneth MacAskill (Interim CEO). Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. founded vs Snyk?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2011 — 4 years before Snyk, which was founded in 2015. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Snyk.
How many employees does CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. have compared to Snyk?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. employs approximately 10,698 people, while Snyk employs approximately 990. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has the larger workforce at 10,698 employees, compared to Snyk's 990. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Snyk headquartered?
Both CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Snyk are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Snyk?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was founded by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston. Snyk was founded by Guy Podjarny, Assaf Hefetz, Danny Grander.
Which company has a longer operating history — CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. or Snyk?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has been operating for approximately 15 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Snyk has been in operation for around 11 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the CrowdStrike vs Snyk overview