Israeli software company CloudShare has been acquired by Bow River Capital, a US-based private equity firm managing US$3.6 billion in assets.

The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but sources estimate the transaction value between US$60 million and US$80 million.

Founded nearly 20 years ago by Dr. Zvi Guterman, CloudShare provides virtual labs for technical training, product demos, cybersecurity simulations, and software testing.

Its clients include Salesforce, Palo Alto Networks, Atlassian, and Motorola.

The company has operated independently since 2014, when Guterman bought out early investors and adopted a bootstrapped approach.

🔗 Source: Calcalistech

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Bootstrapped success defies venture capital norms in Israeli tech

CloudShare represents a rare example of an Israeli tech company that thrived without the venture capital funding typically associated with the startup nation’s success stories.

The company initially raised approximately $20 million in its early years, including a $10 million Series B round from investors like Sequoia Capital in 2009 1, before Dr. Guterman chose to buy out investors in 2014 2.

This decision to bootstrap for nearly a decade while maintaining profitability stands in contrast to Israel’s venture-heavy tech ecosystem, where companies raised a record $25.6 billion in 2021 alone.

The $60-80 million acquisition now validates this capital-efficient approach, reflecting a growing trend where private equity firms increasingly target profitable, bootstrapped software companies rather than high-burn VC-backed startups.

This exit aligns with broader SaaS M&A patterns, where private equity now accounts for 51% of all transactions compared to 39% from strategic buyers 3, showing how the funding landscape has evolved beyond the traditional VC-to-IPO or strategic acquisition path.

2️⃣ Virtual lab market grows with cybersecurity training demand

CloudShare strategically positioned itself in the expanding virtual training and cybersecurity simulation market, which has seen significant growth as organizations prioritize hands-on security training.

The company evolved from its origins as a general virtual environment provider (originally called IT Structures) 2 to specialize in virtual labs for technical training and cybersecurity simulations—a sector now considered essential for organizational security preparedness.