# Minimus (2022 – 2026)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/minimus/
- Sector: Enterprise software (SaaS)
- Country: Israel
- Total funding: $51 million
- Cause of closure: Lost to competitors

## What did it do?

Minimus was a Tel Aviv-based software supply chain security startup. It offered slimmed-down container images and virtual machines with very few known vulnerabilities (CVEs); its aim was to prevent vulnerabilities from appearing rather than detect them after software was built, and it said it could remove more than 95% of the vulnerabilities in software supply chains. It was founded in late 2022, under the name Gutsy, by Ben Bernstein, Dima Stopel and John Morello, who had sold Twistlock to Palo Alto Networks for about USD 410 million in 2019.

## Why did it shut down?

On 24 August 2026 the founders announced that Minimus was ending operations. According to their statement, "the current business and investment climate" had left the company unable to continue; according to CTech, it failed to build enough commercial traction in a crowded market. Rather than burn through the remaining money, the founders chose an orderly wind-down and the return of the remaining cash to investors. According to The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew-language press reports, the amount to be returned is about USD 10 million, close to a fifth of the USD 51 million round of 2023 at the time of the 2026 closure.

According to the company, operations cease completely on 22 October 2026: for 60 days from 24 August the product is maintained with bug fixes and commercial support, and on 22 October the Minimus image registry shuts down; images downloaded earlier keep working but receive no further updates. With the closure announcement all of its roughly 35 employees were let go; according to CTech, the company had about 60 employees four months earlier. On 27 August 2026 its competitor Echo acquired Minimus's technology and customer operations in an all-cash deal worth, according to CTech, a few million dollars; some employees were offered jobs at Echo.

## The story

After working together at Microsoft, Ben Bernstein, Dima Stopel and John Morello founded the container security company Twistlock and sold it to Palo Alto Networks for about USD 410 million in 2019. In late 2022 they teamed up again in Tel Aviv.

The new company first focused on a different product under the name Gutsy. In October 2023 it raised a USD 51 million seed round led by YL Ventures and Mayfield, joined by angel investors including Wiz founders Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik, former CyberArk CEO Udi Mokady and CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz; according to CTech, it was one of the largest seed rounds in Israeli cybersecurity at the time. The company later changed direction, took the name Minimus and cut its team.

Minimus launched publicly in April 2025. What it sold were slimmed-down container images and virtual machines stripped of known vulnerabilities: preventing flaws instead of finding them later. But the market was crowded and commercial traction did not come.

On 24 August 2026 the founders announced the decision to close. All of its roughly 35 employees were let go and the remaining cash was to be returned to investors; according to The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew-language press reports, the amount in 2026 was about USD 10 million. Three days later its competitor Echo bought Minimus's technology and the operations serving customers such as Blackstone, RBS and SentinelOne. According to the company, the image registry shuts down and operations cease completely on 22 October 2026.

The story shows that even an experienced team with a successful exit and a large seed round may not find room in a crowded market, but also that a closure can be orderly and honest.

## Lessons

- A big earlier exit does not guarantee finding a market for the next company; a large seed round buys more time to experiment, not a product people need.
- In a crowded market, the promise of "fewer vulnerabilities" may not be a reason to buy on its own; prove early which existing budget your customer will move to you.
- When traction does not come, choosing an orderly wind-down and a refund over burning the remaining cash protects the founders' relationship with investors and their next company.
- Giving customers a transition period and passing the technology to a competitor on the way out means the product's users are not left stranded.

## Sources

- [After raising $51 million, Minimus shuts down as Twistlock founders return remaining cash to investors](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bj0s5ikdmx)
- [Israeli startup led by cybersecurity veterans lays off workforce and shuts down](https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-led-by-cybersecurity-veterans-lays-off-workforce-and-shuts-down/)
- [Echo acquires operations of competitor Minimus](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ojvj42cjc)
- [MINIMUS](https://www.ylventures.com/portfolio/minimus/)