LinkedIn Ranks Oak Cybersecurity Startup as Israel's Most Desired Employer
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
Cybersecurity firm Oak was named the most desirable startup in Israel for 2026 by LinkedIn, based on employment growth and talent attraction. Double AI and Wonderful followed in the rankings, which consider companies founded within the last seven years. The report highlights AI's increasing role in entrepreneurship, making it easier to start businesses but also increasing market competition. LinkedIn's methodology for the list includes metrics like job seeker interest and employee engagement.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Oak, a cybersecurity startup, was ranked Israel's most desirable employer by LinkedIn for 2026.
- The LinkedIn ranking is based on employment growth, job seeker interest, and talent attraction.
- Double AI and Wonderful secured the second and third positions respectively in the startup list.
- AI is increasingly influencing entrepreneurship, lowering entry barriers and intensifying market competition.
- Companies must be independent, privately held, and seven years old or younger to qualify for the list.
Cybersecurity firm Oak has topped LinkedIn's list of the 15 most desirable startups in Israel for 2026. The company, founded in 2025 and employing 60 people, surpassed Double AI, founded by Amnon Shashua, and Wonderful. The annual ranking is based on LinkedIn data concerning company growth, job seeker interest, and the ability to attract top talent, evaluating four metrics: employment growth, engagement, job interest, and attracting leading employees. To qualify, companies must be independent, privately held, and seven years old or younger, with either Israeli origins or headquarters.
Oak, which specializes in managing identities and access permissions for employees, machines, and AI agents, is led by Shi Morag, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded and sold two cybersecurity firms. Oak's main offices are in Tel Aviv and San Francisco, though Delaware is listed as its location. Double AI, focused on developing "Artificial Expert Intelligence" (AEI) systems to tackle complex scientific and technical problems, secured the second position. Wonderful, a company providing an AI-powered operating system for automating customer service and core operations in large organizations, particularly in non-English speaking markets, ranked third. Wonderful recently raised $550 million at a $5 billion valuation and was second on LinkedIn's list last year.
The list also features Kela Technologies (fourth), which develops software for militaries to integrate commercial technologies like AI into defense systems; Echo (fifth), a cybersecurity firm focused on securing software by continuously identifying and fixing vulnerabilities; and Cyera (sixth), a cybersecurity company that locates, classifies, and monitors sensitive data in cloud environments, which recently raised $1 billion at a valuation exceeding $12 billion. Other notable companies include Notch (seventh), Mate (eighth), Eon (ninth), Port (tenth), Encore AI (eleventh), Limitless Labs (twelfth), Adaptive6 (thirteenth), Dream (fourteenth), founded by Shalev Julio, former founder of NSO, and FINQ (fifteenth), an AI-based fund manager.
LinkedIn noted the growing impact of artificial intelligence on entrepreneurship, with a global survey indicating that four in ten professionals believe AI increases their likelihood of starting a business. AI tools enable entrepreneurs to develop products, automate tasks, and operate with smaller teams, lowering entry barriers but intensifying competition in a crowded market.
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