CrowdStrike vs Wiz: Founders, CEOs and History
CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston and is led by George Kurtz. Wiz was founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and is led by Assaf Rappaport.
Company facts
CrowdStrike
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
- Current CEO
- George Kurtz
- Employees
- 10,698
Wiz
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- New York, New York, United States
- Current CEO
- Assaf Rappaport
- Employees
- 1,800
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 with Kurtz and Alperovitch and handled the company's early finance and operations, including its first venture funding. He later retired from the company.
Wiz
Assaf Rappaport
Assaf Rappaport is co-founder and CEO of Wiz. He led the company's fundraising from its $100 million Series A in 2020 to its $1 billion round at a $12 billion valuation in 2024, declined Google's $23 billion offer in July 2024, and then agreed to the $32 billi…
Yinon Costica
Yinon Costica is co-founder and VP of Product at Wiz, responsible for the product direction of the platform across cloud posture, code security, and runtime protection.
Ami Luttwak
Ami Luttwak is co-founder and CTO of Wiz. He oversees technology and is a public face of the Wiz Research team, which has disclosed cloud vulnerabilities including ChaosDB, OMIGOD, and ExtraReplica.
Roy Reznik
Roy Reznik is co-founder and VP of R&D at Wiz, leading engineering. In October 2024 he told CNBC that Wiz had reached $500 million in ARR and aimed to double it in 2025.
CEOs and their tenures
CrowdStrike
- George Kurtz2011–present
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Kurtz has led CrowdStrike since its founding, building Falcon from cloud-native endpoint security into a multi-module platform. Under him, ARR reached $5.84 billion by July 2026.
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
Podbere has been CFO since 2015 and led the finance organization through the 2019 IPO and the company's scaling past $5 billion in ARR.
Source
Wiz
- Assaf Rappaport2020–present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Leads Wiz's strategy and led the company through its funding rounds and the sale to Alphabet.
Source - Dali Rajic2024–present
President and Chief Operating Officer
Appointed in February 2024 to run go-to-market and operations as Wiz scaled toward $1 billion in ARR.
Source
Timeline: CrowdStrike and Wiz 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.
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.
2019CrowdStrike
Nasdaq IPO
CrowdStrike listed on Nasdaq under ticker CRWD in June 2019, pricing shares at $34 and raising about $612 million.
2020Wiz
Founding and Series A
Founded in January; raised a $100 million Series A in December.
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.
2021Wiz
Series B and C
Raised $250 million across a Series B at a $1.7 billion valuation, then $250 million in October at a $6 billion valuation.
2023CrowdStrike
Charlotte AI Introduced
CrowdStrike introduced Charlotte AI, a generative AI security assistant built into the Falcon platform.
2023Wiz
Series D
Raised $300 million in February at a $10 billion valuation.
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.
2024Wiz
Series E, acquisitions, and declined Google offer
Raised $1 billion at $12 billion in May, bought Gem Security and Dazz, and declined Google's $23 billion offer in July.
2025Wiz
Alphabet agreement and U.S. clearance
Agreed to a $32 billion sale to Alphabet in March; the deal cleared U.S. antitrust review in November.
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.
2026Wiz
EU approval and closing
European Commission approved the deal unconditionally in February; it closed on March 11.
Acquisitions
CrowdStrike
- SGNL2026$740M
- Seraphic Security2026Undisclosed
- Pangea2025Undisclosed
- Flow Security2024Undisclosed
- Bionic2023Undisclosed
- Humio (Falcon LogScale)2021$400M
Questions about CrowdStrike vs Wiz
Who is the CEO of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Wiz, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is led by George Kurtz and Wiz, Inc. is led by Assaf Rappaport. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. founded vs Wiz, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2011 — 9 years before Wiz, Inc., which was founded in 2020. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Wiz, Inc..
How many employees does CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. have compared to Wiz, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. employs approximately 10,698 people, while Wiz, Inc. employs approximately 1,800. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has the larger workforce at 10,698 employees, compared to Wiz, Inc.'s 1,800. 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 Wiz, Inc. headquartered?
Both CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Wiz, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Wiz, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was founded by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston. Wiz, Inc. was founded by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak, Roy Reznik.
Which company has a longer operating history — CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. or Wiz, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has been operating for approximately 15 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Wiz, Inc. has been in operation for around 6 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 Wiz overview