CrowdStrike vs Zscaler: Founders, CEOs and History
CrowdStrike was founded in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston and is led by George Kurtz. Zscaler was founded in 2007 by Jay Chaudhry, K. Kailash and is led by Jay Chaudhry.
Company facts
CrowdStrike
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas
- Current CEO
- George Kurtz
- Employees
- 10,698
Zscaler
- Founded
- 2007
- Headquarters
- San Jose, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Jay Chaudhry
- Employees
- 7,900
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.
Zscaler
Jay Chaudhry
Jay Chaudhry founded and sold security companies including SecureIT, CipherTrust, and AirDefense before starting Zscaler in 2007. He has served as chief executive officer since founding and also chairs the board.
K. Kailash
K. Kailash co-founded Zscaler with Jay Chaudhry in 2007 and helped build the early multi-tenant cloud proxy architecture that inspects user traffic in Zscaler's data centers rather than on customer premises.
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
Zscaler
- Jay Chaudhry2007–present
Co-founder, Chairman and CEO
Has led the company since founding; fiscal 2026 revenue reached $3.353 billion.
Source - Kevin Rubin2025–present
Chief Financial Officer
Serving as CFO for a critical hyper-growth phase (before resigning in 2017), he helped heavily prepare the massive cybersecurity darling for its highly successful public offering.
Source - Ross Tackett2026–present
Chief Revenue Officer
As a senior sales executive, he played a critical role in aggressively scaling Zscaler's massive enterprise go-to-market strategy, securing highly lucrative contracts with Fortune 500 CISOs.
Source
Timeline: CrowdStrike and Zscaler side by side
2007Zscaler
Zscaler founded
Jay Chaudhry and K. Kailash founded Zscaler to deliver enterprise security from the cloud.
2011CrowdStrike
Company Founded
George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston founded CrowdStrike to build a cloud-native alternative to signature-based antivirus.
2012Zscaler
Lightspeed Investment
Zscaler raised $38 million in August 2012 in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
2013CrowdStrike
Falcon Platform Launches
CrowdStrike launched its Falcon endpoint platform, built around a lightweight sensor that streams behavioral data to the cloud.
2015Zscaler
$1 Billion Valuation
Zscaler raised $100 million in a round led by TPG in August 2015 at a valuation of more than $1 billion.
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.
2018Zscaler
Nasdaq IPO
Zscaler listed on Nasdaq in March 2018 under the ticker ZS.
2019CrowdStrike
Nasdaq IPO
CrowdStrike listed on Nasdaq under ticker CRWD in June 2019, pricing shares at $34 and raising about $612 million.
2020CrowdStrike
Preempt Security Acquired
CrowdStrike bought the identity-security company Preempt Security in 2020 for about $96 million.
2020Zscaler
Cloudneeti and Edgewise Acquired
Zscaler bought Cloudneeti and Edgewise Networks in 2020.
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.
2021Zscaler
Smokescreen and Trustdome Acquired
Zscaler bought Smokescreen Technologies and Trustdome in 2021.
2022Zscaler
ShiftRight Acquired
Zscaler bought the security-workflow company ShiftRight in 2022.
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.
2023Zscaler
Acquired Canonic Security
Zscaler acquired Canonic 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.
2024Zscaler
Avalor and Airgap acquisitions
Zscaler bought Avalor, a security data fabric startup, and Airgap Networks, an agentless segmentation company.
2025CrowdStrike
Acquired Pangea
CrowdStrike Holdings acquired Pangea.
2025Zscaler
Red Canary acquisition
Zscaler acquired managed detection and response provider Red Canary, which ended fiscal 2026 with $141 million of ARR.
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.
2026Zscaler
Fiscal 2026 revenue reaches $3.353 billion
Revenue grew 25% and ARR reached $3.771 billion; Zscaler also announced a roughly 3% workforce reduction.
2026Zscaler
New chief revenue officer
Ross Tackett, head of worldwide sales, became CRO on October 1, 2026, succeeding Mike Rich.
Acquisitions
CrowdStrike
- SGNL2026$740M
- Seraphic Security2026Undisclosed
- Pangea2025Undisclosed
- Flow Security2024Undisclosed
- Bionic2023Undisclosed
- Humio (Falcon LogScale)2021$400M
Zscaler
- Red Canary2025Undisclosed
- Avalor2024$350M
- Airgap Networks2024Undisclosed
- Canonic Security2023Undisclosed
Questions about CrowdStrike vs Zscaler
Who is the CEO of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is led by George Kurtz and Zscaler, Inc. is led by Jay Chaudhry. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. founded vs Zscaler, Inc.?
Zscaler, Inc. was founded in 2007 — 4 years before CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., which was founded in 2011. Zscaler, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc..
How many employees does CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. have compared to Zscaler, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. employs approximately 10,698 people, while Zscaler, Inc. employs approximately 7,900. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has the larger workforce at 10,698 employees, compared to Zscaler, Inc.'s 7,900. 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 Zscaler, Inc. headquartered?
Both CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc. are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc.?
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was founded by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, Gregg Marston. Zscaler, Inc. was founded by Jay Chaudhry, K. Kailash.
Which company has a longer operating history — CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. or Zscaler, Inc.?
Zscaler, Inc. has been operating for approximately 19 years, making it the more established of the two companies. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. has been in operation for around 15 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 Zscaler overview