Tags: Unit 8200

Israeli startup Onfire has closed a $20 million financing round led by Grove Ventures and TLV Partners, with participation from Sumitomo’s IN Venture and LeumiTech77. The company, founded by former Unit 8200 veterans Tal Peretz, Shahar Shavit and Nitzan Hada, uses AI to mine public developer forums for buying intent signals, then matches those signals to the commenters’ employers and decision‑makers. Onfire’s platform layers budget‑cycle data to help B2B sales teams time outreach, and its early customers include ActiveFence, Aiven, Cyera, Port and Spectro Cloud. The new capital will fund AI, R&D and sales hires as the firm expands its U.S. go‑to‑market operation. Ler mais

Microsoft announced it has stopped providing Azure cloud storage and certain AI services to the Israeli Ministry of Defense after an internal investigation linked the unit’s use of its technology to the storage of surveillance data on Palestinian phone calls. The decision follows a Guardian report about Unit 8200’s use of Azure and reflects Microsoft’s long‑standing policy against facilitating mass civilian surveillance. The company said the review is ongoing, while employee activism and protests have intensified around Microsoft’s ties to Israel. Ler mais

Microsoft has terminated a unit of the Israeli defense ministry's access to its Azure cloud services after determining that the platform was being used for mass surveillance of Palestinian civilians. The decision follows an external review and internal pressure from employees and investors. Microsoft executives, including Brad Smith, emphasized the company's longstanding policy against facilitating civilian surveillance, and the move reflects heightened scrutiny of technology partnerships in conflict zones. Ler mais