Another cybersecurity company is chasing a value that tests every reasonable notion of what a startup is worth. Cyera, an Israeli-American data-protection firm, is aiming for a valuation of 12 billion dollars in a new funding round of at least 300 million - and that's a price of around 80 times its annual revenue.

To be clear about how much that is: the company has over 150 million dollars in annual revenue, isn't profitable, and burns through money faster than it earns it. Yet investors led by Evolution Equity Partners are willing to pay as if it's worth more than some countries. Just five months ago, in January, Cyera was valued at 9 billion in the previous round. A jump of three billion in five months, with no profit on the horizon.

The story isn't new. Founded in 2021, the company tripled its revenue in 2025, serves a fifth of the Fortune 500 list, and has raised over 2 billion dollars in capital in total. It bought two smaller firms and opened 500 new jobs this year alone. The growth is real - the question is whether a valuation of 80 times revenue is a price for growth, or a price for hope.

When asked about the figures, the company replied that the claims are "factually and significantly inaccurate" - a wording that doesn't say what's accurate, only that this isn't. The investors, it seems, don't mind. Because in the valuation game, what matters isn't how much you're worth today, but how much someone believes you'll be worth tomorrow. And that belief, unlike revenue, shows up in no table at all.