Michael Shaulov is the CEO and co-founder of Fireblocks, a blockchain security service provider.
Education
Michael Shaulov received his B.Sc. in Computer Sciences and Physics from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel in 2009.
Early career
In September 2001, Michael Shaulov first worked as a Software Team Leader at Israeli Intelligence Corps until August 2005. Shaulov pioneered the mobile security field in an elite military technological unit (8200), where he received the Israeli Presidential Excellency Honor for his contributions.
In 2008, Shaulov worked at NICE Systems as Cellular Technology and Security Team Leader, where he led a team of mobile security researchers. After three years, Shaulov co-founded his first venture, Lacoon Mobile Security, along with Emanuel Avner and Ohad Bobrov. Shaulov was responsible for the direction of the company, with a maniacal focus on adding the security organizations need to efficiently leverage mobility.
Lacoon Mobile Security empowers the new mobile enterprise to support all sorts of mobile devices and applications while preserving their resources from cyber-crime and cyber-espionage. The Mobile Fortress solution evaluates the mobile risks by operating on the device and network-based defense-in-depth approach and enables enterprises to detect and eliminate all types of developing, targeted, and zero-day mobile attacks.
Lacoon Mobile Security has raised a total of $8 million in one funding round and funded by four investors. In April 2015, Check Point Software Technologies acquired the Lacoon Mobile Security for an estimated price of $100 million. After the acquisition, Shaulov remained the company and appointed to be the Head of Mobility Product Management. Shaulov then promoted to become Head of Products, Mobile, and Cloud Security.
Fireblocks
In July 2018, Shaulov co-founded and the CEO of Fireblocks, a Blockchain security service provider, along with Pavel Berengoltz as VP R&D and Idan Ofrat as CTO. Fireblocks is a platform that protects digital assets in transit, focusing on protecting the transmission of customers’ digital assets between exchanges, counter brokers, hot wallets, and cold stores.
Fireblocks is easy to use, enterprise-grade platform for financial institutions that require streamlining digital asset operations without sacrificing security. Fireblocks assist financial institutions and other enterprise customers that purchase and manage blockchain based assets to move customers without being hacked. The product provides the customers to install a secure network of all their accounts and counterparties to transfer cryptocurrencies or other tokenized assets in just a click of a button while meeting enterprise-grade security and regulatory necessities.
Fireblocks can securely transfer assets across exchanges, custodians, wallets, and counterparties and keep it immediately available using MPC technology and patent-pending chip isolation security. Customers, which include some of the largest institutional digital asset trading operators like Genesis Global Trading, Galaxy Digital, and more, use the platform to safeguard the digital assets in its portfolio as it is moved across exchanges, OTCs, hot wallets, counterparties, and custodians.
Currently, Fireblocks is combined with 15 digital asset exchanges and provides support for over 180 cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokens.
In June 2019, Fireblocks raised $16 million in a Series A round of funding from lead investors Tenaya Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, MState, Swisscom Ventures, and CyberStarts. Fireblocks is funded by five investors. Fireblocks competes with R3, Bakkt, and Blockstream. Gili Raanan also joined the Member of the Board during this round of funding.
Investments
In 2015, Shaulov was an investor for one year of Hexadite Ltd, which was then acquired by Microsoft. Shaulov is also an investor of Armis Security and a seed investor of Orca Security.
Awards and recognitions
Michael Shaulov received The Israeli Presidential Excellency Honor from the Israeli President and received Head of the Israeli Intelligence Branch Excellency Award from the Head of Intelligence Department in the same year of 2004. Shaulov is also a recognized industry speaker, delivering talks at RSA Conference, BlackHat EU, BlackHat USA, and Infosec.