JFrog enhancing AI capabilities with $230 million acquisition of Qwak
The all-Israeli deal will allow JFrog to enhance its machine learning model capabilities and enable users to streamline models from development to deployment
Israeli company JFrog, which develops DevOps and DevSecOps solutions, announced on Tuesday that it is acquiring fellow Israeli company Qwak AI, which develops an AI and MLOps platform. The deal is valued at $230 million.
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With the acquisition, JFrog, which is traded on Nasdaq with a market cap of $3.6 billion, aims to offer a unified and scalable solution for DevOps, Security, and MLOps stakeholders, enhancing its machine learning (ML) model capabilities and enabling users to streamline models from development to deployment.
Qwak was founded in 2020 by Alon Lev, Lior Penso, Ran Romano, and Yuval Fernbach and employs around 45 people. The startup, which has raised $27 million to date from the likes of Bessemer Venture Partners, Leaders Fund, StageOne Ventures, Nordstar, and Amiti, optimizes the machine learning development process through a platform that enables the construction of complex projects in machine learning and artificial intelligence easily and efficiently. Qwak's solution effectively reduces the dependency between data science and development teams, providing an organized and documented workspace that accelerates the process and allows models to be managed as soon as they are integrated into the product environment.
The company recorded sales of several million dollars in 2023 and is estimated to at least double its sales in 2024. Qwak's solution is expected to be integrated into JFrog's development management systems, continuing the existing cooperation between the companies. The unified solution will offer, for the first time in the industry, advanced functionality that allows developers and data scientists to enjoy a unified platform for managing the development of AI-based applications and other applications, using automation and modern DevOps processes while maintaining an adequate level of security.
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"Next-generation Software Supply Chain platforms will need to expand and natively include MLOps solutions to better serve development organizations," said Shlomi Ben Haim, CEO and Co-founder of JFrog. "We’re excited to combine Qwak’s MLOps solution with our platform to empower our customers' AI journey. Qwak's solution, powered by JFrog Artifactory as the model registry of choice and JFrog Xray for scanning and securing ML models, will enhance user efficiency and provide a unified platform experience for DevOps, DevSecOps, MLOps, and MLSecOps," Ben Haim added.
"We’re beyond excited to join the JFrog family and to help customers accelerate their AI initiatives," said Alon Lev, CEO and Co-Founder of Qwak. "Our founding vision for Qwak was to change the way software development teams and Data Scientists work together to bring AI assets into production. With the power of the JFrog Software Supply Chain Platform to deliver secure software components at scale, we’re creating a whole new experience that will pave the way for unified digital delivery teams to bring responsible, secured models into their applications much more simply and predictably."
