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The Unexpected Path to Category Creation: How Anjuna is Making Trust a Feature of Cloud Computing

When it comes to cloud security, most solutions focus on prevention: building higher walls, stronger gates, better detection. But what if the fundamental problem isn’t about keeping bad actors out, but rather making the data worthless to them once they get in? This is the revolutionary approach that Anjuna, led by CEO Ayal Yogev, is taking to redefine enterprise security through confidential computing.

In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Yogev shared how Anjuna is pioneering a new category in enterprise security, one that doesn’t just add another layer of protection, but fundamentally changes how organizations think about data security in the cloud.

The Genesis of Anjuna

After spending 25 years in enterprise security, including roles at Imperva, Lookout, and Cisco, Yogev noticed a pattern. As he explains, “when you kind of peel the layers of the onion of, you know, 80% of security problems, you get to that same root cause, which is once somebody gets access to your infrastructure, it’s game over. They just have access to everything that you do.”

This realization came into sharp focus when Yogev reconnected with his co-founder, Jan Michalevsky, who had just completed his PhD at Stanford under renowned cryptographer Professor Dan Boneh. Michalevsky had discovered the potential of confidential computing, a fundamental shift in how computers process sensitive data.

The Paradigm Shift in Security

What makes Anjuna’s approach revolutionary isn’t just the technology—it’s the complete reimagining of how security should work. As Ayal describes, “Finally there was a solution to this problem, a solution that even if they do get root access, even if they get full access to your infrastructure, they just can’t get any access to your data.”

This isn’t just another security tool; it’s a fundamental change in computing architecture. Similar to how VMware transformed server utilization through virtualization, Anjuna is making confidential computing accessible to organizations without requiring them to rebuild their applications from scratch.

Breaking Traditional Sales Models

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Anjuna’s journey is how they’ve had to rethink traditional enterprise sales approaches. “Usually we walk in and there’s no budget allocated for confidential computing,” Ayal explains. Unlike typical security solutions that fit into existing budget lines, Anjuna is creating an entirely new category—one that requires education and vision-selling at the highest levels of organizations.

This challenge has turned into an advantage. Rather than getting stuck in lengthy security review processes, Anjuna’s solutions often receive board-level visibility because they enable entirely new possibilities. They’re not just reducing risk; they’re enabling new business opportunities.

The VMware of Confidential Computing

Anjuna’s approach to category creation mirrors VMware’s transformation of data centers. Just as VMware made virtualization accessible without requiring companies to rewrite their applications, Anjuna is doing the same for confidential computing. “We build this pretty amazing platform and we have a, let’s say two years lead on the technology side,” Ayal notes.

This parallel extends to their go-to-market strategy. Rather than focusing solely on security teams, Anjuna primarily sells to CIOs and infrastructure teams. “We end up talking to the CIO or the infrastructure team and not necessarily to the security team,” Ayal shares. “This sort of becomes a way to again to make security as an enabler rather than a sort of a risk reduction or a blocker.”

The Future of Secure Computing

Looking ahead, Anjuna’s vision extends beyond just securing data. They’re positioning themselves to become the default platform for confidential computing, similar to how VMware became synonymous with virtualization. With partnerships already in place with AWS and Azure, they’re building the foundation for a future where secure computing is a standard feature, not an add-on.

As Ayal describes their trajectory, “We’re growing extremely fast. We’re about to quadrupling every year now, which is pretty phenomenal to see.” This growth isn’t just about sales numbers—it’s about fundamentally changing how organizations approach security and cloud adoption.

The company’s success in rapidly closing deals with major banks—sometimes within six months, an unusually short cycle for financial institutions—suggests that the market is ready for this paradigm shift. These organizations aren’t just buying a security solution; they’re investing in a new way of thinking about data protection and cloud computing.

For founders and technology leaders watching this space, Anjuna’s story offers a masterclass in category creation. It demonstrates that sometimes the biggest opportunities don’t come from building a better solution within existing categories, but from fundamentally rethinking the problem itself. In Anjuna’s case, they’re not just securing data—they’re making trust a feature of cloud computing itself.