Backed by Index, Bessemer, and top tech founders, Ryft is the only Iceberg-native data platform built to end vendor lock-in and put enterprises back in control of their data
TEL AVIV, IL / ACCESS Newswire / July 9, 2025 / Ryft, the pioneering cloud data management platform built to help enterprises own their data, is emerging from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Index and joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from members of the founding teams at Wiz as well as executives from Zscaler, Crowdstrike, Confluent, and Cisco.
For years, cloud giants like Snowflake, Databricks, Microsoft, and Google have made billions by offering enterprises an easy way to store and analyze data, as long as that data stays within their platforms. But that convenience came at a hidden cost: soaring expenses, rigid infrastructure, and deep vendor lock-in that slowed innovation and made AI adoption harder. Still, many companies remain stuck in outdated systems, deterred by the complexity of managing their data independently.
Ryft disrupts this model by offering a fully managed data platform, built for Apache Iceberg™ (the open-source standard for modern data lakes), without compromising ownership or flexibility. It takes care of the hardest parts of owning your data: optimization, compliance, disaster recovery, and governance, so your team can focus on building, not babysitting infrastructure.
In the age of AI, data isn’t just a resource; it’s the engine of innovation, speed, and competitive advantage. To stay ahead, enterprises need infrastructure that’s as dynamic as the systems they’re building: agile, adaptable, and fully under their control.
“Enterprises want to innovate faster, move with confidence, and build the right foundation for AI, without sinking time and resources into complex infrastructure. Otherwise, they’ll fall behind,” said Yossi Reitblat, Ryft’s co-founder and CEO. “Ryft makes it possible for any company to own, govern, and optimize their data with the same ease they’ve come to expect from external vendors, only now, it’s fully in their hands.”
“Ryft is tackling one of the toughest challenges in data infrastructure today – giving teams control over their data without sacrificing ease of use,”said Juriaan Duizendstraal, partner at Index. “By building on Apache Iceberg, they’ve created a platform that eliminates vendor lock-in, simplifies data stacks, and enables AI adoption for enterprises. From our first meeting, the team’s energy, clarity of thought, and ambition stood out. Yossi, Yuval, and Guy are not just building a company; they’re shaping an entire category. It’s no wonder they’re attracting exceptional talent.”
Ryft was founded by former elite Israeli intelligence officers Yossi Reitblat (CEO), Yuval Yogev (CTO), and Guy Gadon (VP R&D). The team combines deep experience in data architecture, cybersecurity, and consumer-scale product development. Ryft is already in full deployment with customers in finance, e-commerce, Adtech, gaming, and cybersecurity.
The new funding will be used to grow the engineering team, scale GTM efforts, and build new partnerships.
About Ryft
Ryft is the first cloud data management platform designed to help enterprises fully own and control their data. Built for the lakehouse era and optimized for Apache Iceberg, Ryft eliminates vendor lock-in by giving teams the tools they need to unify, govern, and scale modern data systems, without the overhead. Founded in 2024 and backed by Index, Bessemer, and top tech founders, Ryft has offices in New York and Tel Aviv, with a global team. Learn more at: ryft.io
SOURCE: Ryft
