Check Point Software
Israeli cybersecurity company founded 1993 by Gil Shwed, Marius Nacht, and Shlomo Kramer. Listed on Nasdaq (CHKP) since 1996. The pioneer of stateful-inspection firewall technology and the foundational Israeli cybersecurity company; the longest sustained independent run of any Israeli technology firm.
Check Point Software Technologies is the founding Israeli cybersecurity company — established in 1993 in Tel Aviv by Gil Shwed, Marius Nacht, and Shlomo Kramer. The company commercialized stateful packet inspection (a technology patented by Shwed) and shipped the first widely deployed enterprise firewall, FireWall-1, in 1994. Check Point listed on Nasdaq (CHKP) in 1996 and has remained publicly listed for three decades. Headquartered in Tel Aviv.
Why it matters. Check Point is foundational to the Israeli cyber industry: its founders are widely cited as the architects of the Israeli cybersecurity sector, and the company's three-decade independent run is the longest of any Israeli technology firm. Successive generations of Israeli cybersecurity founders have come through Check Point as employees, executives, or competitors. Gil Shwed served as CEO from 1993 to 2024, when he transitioned to Executive Chair and Nadav Zafrir — former IDF Unit 8200 commander and Team8 co-founder — became CEO.
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