Qualys vs SentinelOne: Founders, CEOs and History
Qualys was founded in 1999 by Philippe Courtot, Gilles Samoun, Mehrdad Bidgoli and is led by Sumedh Thakar. SentinelOne was founded in 2013 by Tomer Weingarten, Almog Cohen and is led by Tomer Weingarten.
Company facts
Qualys
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- 919 E Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404, United States
- Current CEO
- Sumedh Thakar
- Employees
- 2,200
SentinelOne
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California
- Current CEO
- Tomer Weingarten
- Employees
- 2,400
Founders
Qualys
Philippe Courtot
Philippe Courtot (1944–2021) was a visionary Franco-American tech entrepreneur who led cc:Mail and Signio before investing in Qualys in 1999 and becoming CEO in 2001.
Gilles Samoun
Gilles Samoun is a serial software entrepreneur who co-founded Qualys in December 1999 to create automated web-based network vulnerability scanning tools, later founding and leading several enterprise SaaS ventures.
Mehrdad Bidgoli
Mehrdad Bidgoli was one of the early co-founders and architects who participated in the inception of Qualys in late 1999, helping lay the conceptual foundation for automated remote vulnerability scanning.
Philippe Langlois
Philippe Langlois is a French cybersecurity researcher and network security pioneer who co-founded Qualys in 1999, architecting the original technical vulnerability scanning framework that evolved into QualysGuard.
SentinelOne
Tomer Weingarten
Tomer Weingarten co-founded SentinelOne in 2013 and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception.
Almog Cohen
Almog Cohen co-founded SentinelOne in 2013 alongside Tomer Weingarten, serving as an early technological architect.
CEOs and their tenures
Qualys
- Sumedh Thakar
President and Chief Executive Officer
- Joo Mi Kim
Chief Financial Officer
- Dino DiMarino
Chief Revenue Officer
- Pinkesh Shah
Chief Product Officer
SentinelOne
- Tomer Weingarten
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman
- Barbara Larson
Chief Financial Officer
- Dave Bernhardt
Former Chief Financial Officer
- Almog Cohen
Co-Founder
- Ric Smith
Former President of Product, Technology, and Operations
Timeline: Qualys and SentinelOne side by side
1999Qualys
Qualys Founded in Foster City
Gerhard Eschelbeck and early software founders establish Qualys to pioneer cloud-delivered vulnerability management.
2001Qualys
Philippe Courtot Joins as CEO
Philippe Courtot assumes leadership, establishing the multi-tenant SaaS architecture for enterprise security.
2002Qualys
Launch of QualysGuard Cloud Platform
Introduces the QualysGuard cloud engine, allowing enterprises to scan global networks without local hardware.
2009Qualys
Qualys Scans Surpass 100 Million
Processes over 100 million annual network scans, proving the scalability of multi-tenant cloud security.
2012Qualys
Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ (QLYS)
Lists on NASDAQ, establishing an industry reputation for software profitability and 80%+ gross margins.
2013SentinelOne
SentinelOne Founded in Mountain View
Tomer Weingarten and Almog Cohen found SentinelOne to build autonomous on-agent behavioral cybersecurity.
2014SentinelOne
Release of First Autonomous Agent
Pioneers on-device machine learning models to detect and block zero-day exploits without signature updates.
2015Qualys
Invention of the Qualys Cloud Agent
Pioneers lightweight, low-footprint endpoint agent eliminating scheduled network scanning windows.
2016SentinelOne
Invention of Automated Ransomware Rollback
Introduces proprietary Windows VSS integration allowing instant one-click restoration of encrypted files.
2018Qualys
Launch of Global IT Asset Management (ITAM)
Expands into continuous asset discovery, indexing hardware, software, and cloud assets in real time.
2018SentinelOne
Launch of Storyline Causality Engine
Releases Storyline technology, autonomously tracking OS-level event trees into causal incident graphs.
2020Qualys
Launch of VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection & Response)
Landmark platform launch unifying discovery, vulnerability detection, prioritization, and response.
2020SentinelOne
Launch of Singularity Platform
Unifies endpoint detection (EDR), cloud workload protection, and IoT security into a single XDR platform.
2021Qualys
Sumedh Thakar Appointed CEO
Long-standing Chief Product Officer Sumedh Thakar succeeds Philippe Courtot as President and CEO.
2021SentinelOne
Record-Breaking NYSE Initial Public Offering
Completes the largest cybersecurity IPO in Wall Street history under ticker 'S', raising $1.2 billion.
2021SentinelOne
Acquisition of Scalyr for $155 Million
Acquires high-speed cloud log analytics pioneer Scalyr to build the Singularity Data Lake.
2022Qualys
Unveils Qualys TruRisk Quantification
Integrates risk-based scoring algorithms to translate technical CVEs into board-level monetary risk metrics.
2022SentinelOne
Acquisition of Attivo Networks for $616.5M
Integrates identity threat detection and response (ITDR) and credential deception into Singularity.
2023Qualys
Automated Patch Management Scaling
Expands automated cloud agent patch deployment, closing vulnerabilities without third-party tools.
2023SentinelOne
Unveils Purple AI Generative Copilot
Pioneers the cybersecurity industry's first embedded generative AI natural language security analyst.
2024Qualys
Revenue Reaches $590M with 27%+ Net Profit Margin
Generates $590M in annual revenue, delivers $160M in net income, and serves 70% of Forbes Global 50.
2024SentinelOne
Revenue Exceeds $621M with Positive Free Cash Flow
Generates $621.2M in annual revenue, expands customer base past 11,500, and scales Singularity Cloud.
2025SentinelOne
Acquisition of PingSafe for Cloud Security (CNAPP)
Acquires CNAPP innovator PingSafe to deliver unified agentless and agent-based cloud defense.
2026Qualys
Advances AI-Native Exposure Remediation
Deploys autonomous risk-based patch orchestration across 10,000+ hybrid enterprise environments.
2026SentinelOne
Expands Enterprise Autonomous SOC Ecosystem
Scales Purple AI across global enterprise SOCs, driving autonomous incident triaging and threat hunting.
Acquisitions
Qualys
- Blue Hexagon2022Undisclosed
- TotalCloud2021Undisclosed
- Spell Security2020Undisclosed
- Adya2019Undisclosed
- Layered Insight2018Undisclosed
- 1Mobility2018Undisclosed
SentinelOne
- Observo AI2025Undisclosed
- PingSafe2024$100M
- Krebs Stamos Group2023Undisclosed
- Attivo Networks2022$616.5M
- Scalyr2021$155M
Questions about Qualys vs SentinelOne
Who is the CEO of Qualys and SentinelOne?
Qualys is led by Sumedh Thakar and SentinelOne is led by Tomer Weingarten. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Qualys founded vs SentinelOne?
Qualys was founded in 1999 — 14 years before SentinelOne, which was founded in 2013. Qualys's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger SentinelOne.
How many employees does Qualys have compared to SentinelOne?
Qualys employs approximately 2,200 people, while SentinelOne employs approximately 2,400. SentinelOne has the larger workforce at 2,400 employees, compared to Qualys's 2,200. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Qualys and SentinelOne headquartered?
Both Qualys and SentinelOne are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Qualys and SentinelOne?
Qualys was founded by Philippe Courtot, Gilles Samoun, Mehrdad Bidgoli, Philippe Langlois. SentinelOne was founded by Tomer Weingarten, Almog Cohen.
Which company has a longer operating history — Qualys or SentinelOne?
Qualys has been operating for approximately 27 years, making it the more established of the two companies. SentinelOne has been in operation for around 13 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 Qualys vs SentinelOne overview