Cellebrite

Cellebrite is an Israeli digital intelligence and digital forensics company headquartered in Petah Tikva. Its products are used to collect, preserve, review, analyze, and manage data from mobile phones, computers, cloud services, and other digital sources. The company serves law-enforcement agencies, intelligence and military organizations, border and immigration authorities, corporate-security teams, enterprises, law firms, and independent forensic examiners. The company was founded in Israel in 1999 by Avi Yablonka, Yaron Baratz, and Yuval Aflalo. Its original business focused on phone-to-phone data transfer, contact synchronization, and content migration for wireless-carrier retail and support environments. This early work gave Cellebrite expertise in handling data across a fragmented mobile-device ecosystem. In 2007, it created an independent mobile-forensics division and introduced the Universal Forensic Extraction Device, commonly known as UFED. UFED became the company’s best-known product family and established Cellebrite as a major supplier of mobile-device acquisition tools to investigators. Cellebrite’s forensic portfolio expanded beyond extraction. Its software is designed to help investigators acquire data from supported devices, decode and organize information, identify relationships and timelines, search communications and media, and produce reports for investigative or evidentiary use. The company also developed platforms for broader digital-intelligence workflows, including analysis of data from mobile devices, computers, cloud sources, and connected systems. Pathfinder has been associated with investigative analysis and link discovery, while Physical Analyzer and related products support examination and interpretation of acquired data. Ownership and corporate structure changed several times. FutureDial and Japanese technology company Sun Corporation became significant owners in 2007, with Sun later becoming Cellebrite’s largest shareholder. Israeli Growth Partners invested $110 million in 2019. Cellebrite acquired BlackBag Technologies in 2020, adding computer-forensics capabilities and the MacQuisition product line. In 2021, it completed a business combination with TWC Tech Holdings II Corporation and began trading on Nasdaq under CLBT. The transaction gave the company an implied pro forma equity value of approximately $2.4 billion, according to contemporary company and reference reporting. The business has also retained a mobile-lifecycle activity. In 2017, that division was rebranded Mobilogy and continued to provide phone-transfer, backup, application-distribution, and mobile-data services. Cellebrite subsequently expanded its security and investigative capabilities through acquisitions, including Cyber Technology Services in 2024 and Corellium in 2025. Corellium’s virtualized mobile-device environments are relevant to security research and mobile analysis. Cellebrite operates internationally through offices and subsidiaries in locations including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Its products are dual-use technologies: they can support legitimate investigations, criminal-case development, missing-person inquiries, and device servicing, but they can also enable access to private information by state authorities. This dual-use character has made the company a recurring subject of human-rights, export-control, transparency, and oversight debates. Reports have connected Cellebrite tools or services with investigations and alleged abuses in countries including Belarus, Russia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Jordan, and Serbia. Cellebrite has stated that it restricts or ends relationships with customers that violate its policies or applicable controls, although civil-society groups have continued to question how effectively those restrictions prevent later use of previously sold equipment. Cellebrite’s current market position is built…

Cellebrite was established in Israel in 1999 by Avi Yablonka, Yaron Baratz, and Yuval Aflalo. Its initial products addressed a practical problem created by the rapid spread of mobile phones: transferring contacts and other content between devices. The company supplied phone-to-phone migration and synchronization equipment to wireless-carrier retail stores and support personnel. This origin placed Cellebrite close to the operational infrastructure of the mobile industry rather than in the traditional police-technology market. In 2001, Ron Serber joined the company, followed by Yossi Carmil in 2004. Serber and Carmil became co-chief executives in 2005. A major strategic shift occurred in 2007, when Cellebrite established a dedicated mobile-forensics division. That year it introduced UFED, a portable device intended to extract information from mobile phones for investigative use. The product helped make Cellebrite a prominent supplier to police, intelligence agencies, militaries, corporate investigators, law firms, and specialist forensic practitioners. Also in 2007, FutureDial Incorporated and Sun Corporation of Japan acquired the company. Sun became Cellebrite’s largest shareholder. The business continued to develop both its original mobile-lifecycle activities and its forensic portfolio. In 2017, the mobile-lifecycle division was renamed Mobilogy. Mobilogy covered device-transfer and backup services, application distribution, and related mobile-data tools, while the Cellebrite name became increasingly associated with digital investigations. The forensic business broadened from physical extraction toward software-led analysis. UFED products were complemented by tools such as Physical Analyzer and Pathfinder, which assist with decoding, searching, visualization, link analysis, reporting, and investigative workflow. In 2019, Cellebrite announced UFED Premium, describing it as capable of accessing data from certain newer iOS and Android devices. Israeli Growth Partners invested $110 million in the company that year. Cellebrite’s expansion continued with the January 2020 acquisition of BlackBag Technologies, a United States computer-forensics company. BlackBag’s MacQuisition product provided capabilities for collecting and analyzing data from Apple computers, enabling Cellebrite to present a broader digital-intelligence offering rather than one centered only on mobile phones. In April 2021, Cellebrite announced a plan to become publicly traded through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company TWC Tech Holdings II Corporation. The combination was completed in August 2021, and the company’s Nasdaq securities adopted the CLBT and CLBTW symbols. The transaction was reported with an implied pro forma equity value of approximately $2.4 billion. Before and around the listing, civil-society organizations called for stronger human-rights safeguards and greater transparency concerning government customers. The company’s technology has remained controversial because it can be used for both legitimate forensic work and intrusive access to personal information. Reports have described use of Cellebrite products in criminal investigations, missing-person cases, tax enforcement, wildlife-trafficking investigations, and terrorism or organized-crime inquiries. Other reporting and civil-society investigations have associated the tools with surveillance, political repression, journalist targeting, or human-rights concerns in several jurisdictions. Cellebrite has publicly stated that it applies customer restrictions and has announced the suspension or termination of relationships in some markets, including Russia, Belarus, and certain Serbian customers. Critics have argued that restrictions are difficult to enforce once hardware or software has already been delivered. In 2021, Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike published technical claims about vulnerabilities in Cellebrite’s Windows software, including the possibility that specially crafted files could affect reports generated by the software. The episode raised questions about the security and evidentiary integrity of forensic platforms. Cellebrite responded that it was committed to protecting customer data and regularly auditing and updating its products. Yossi Carmil retired as chief executive in 2024 and Thomas Hogan became CEO. Cellebrite announced the acquisition of Cyber Technology Services in July 2024, expanding its cybersecurity and federal-services reach. In June 2025, it announced the acquisition of Corellium, whose virtualized mobile-device environments support security research. These moves indicate a continuing strategy of combining device access, computer and cloud investigation, analytics, cybersecurity, and research infrastructure into a wider digital-intelligence platform.

1. 2025Corellium acquisition announced

   Cellebrite acquires a provider of virtualized mobile-device environments for security research.

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2. 2024Cyber Technology Services acquisition announced

   Cellebrite expands its cybersecurity and federal-services capabilities through an acquisition.

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3. 2021Cellebrite becomes publicly listed

   The company completes its merger with TWC Tech Holdings II Corporation and begins Nasdaq trading as CLBT.

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4. 2020BlackBag Technologies is acquired

   The deal adds computer-forensics capabilities, including MacQuisition.

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5. 2019Israeli Growth Partners invests in Cellebrite

   IGP invests $110 million in the company.

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6. 2017Mobile Lifecycle becomes Mobilogy

   The company rebrands its phone-transfer and mobile-lifecycle division as Mobilogy.

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7. 2007Mobile-forensics division is established

   Cellebrite creates a dedicated division for law-enforcement and intelligence applications and introduces the UFED product family.

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8. 1999Cellebrite is founded in Israel

   Avi Yablonka, Yaron Baratz, and Yuval Aflalo establish the company.

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A global digital-intelligence and forensic-technology provider focused on lawful acquisition, examination, analysis, and management of data from mobile devices, computers, cloud services, and other digital sources.

• Cellebrite UFEDMobile-device forensic extraction2007

  UFED is Cellebrite’s flagship family of portable and software-assisted mobile-forensics tools. It is designed to acquire data from supported phones and other devices for subsequent examination, subject to device compatibility, authorization, and applicable legal controls. The product family has been central to Cellebrite’s identity since its forensic division was established in 2007.

• UFED PremiumAdvanced mobile-device access2019

  UFED Premium is an advanced version of the company’s mobile-forensics offering. Cellebrite has marketed it for accessing and extracting data from selected newer iOS and Android devices, including devices protected by modern security controls. Capability depends on the supported model, operating-system version, and licensed configuration.

• Physical AnalyzerForensic analysis software

  Physical Analyzer is used to process, decode, search, and review data acquired from digital devices. It helps investigators organize messages, media, application records, and other artifacts and supports reporting and evidentiary workflows.

• Cellebrite PathfinderDigital-intelligence analytics

  Pathfinder is an investigative-analysis platform intended to help users connect people, devices, communications, locations, and other data points. Its role is to move beyond isolated device extraction toward correlation, visualization, and broader case analysis.

• MacQuisitionComputer forensics

  MacQuisition is a computer-forensics product obtained through the acquisition of BlackBag Technologies. It supports collection and examination of data from Apple computers and helped extend Cellebrite’s portfolio beyond mobile devices.

• MobilogyMobile lifecycle services2017

  Mobilogy is the rebranded mobile-lifecycle division of Cellebrite. Its activities include phone-to-phone transfer, backup, application distribution, and related services for mobile-device retail, support, and data-management workflows.

• 2025Acquire CorelliumM&A

  Virtualized mobile-device environments can support mobile security research and analysis.

  What changed. Cellebrite acquired Corellium in a transaction reported as including cash, restricted stock, and performance-based consideration.

  Aftermath. The acquisition added mobile virtualization and security-research infrastructure to Cellebrite’s broader technology portfolio.

  Reported maximum transaction consideration. up to $200 million (2025 acquisition announcement)

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• 2024Acquire Cyber Technology ServicesM&A

  Cellebrite sought additional cybersecurity and federal-project capabilities.

  What changed. The company announced the acquisition of Cyber Technology Services, based in Virginia.

  Aftermath. The deal broadened Cellebrite’s access to cybersecurity expertise and government-oriented work.

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• 2021Complete merger with TWC Tech Holdings IIM&A

  Cellebrite announced a transaction intended to take the company public.

  What changed. The merger was completed and Cellebrite began trading on Nasdaq under CLBT.

  Aftermath. Cellebrite became a publicly listed company with an implied pro forma equity value reported at approximately $2.4 billion.

  Implied pro forma equity value. approximately $2.4 billion (2021 transaction announcement and completion)

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• 2020Acquire BlackBag TechnologiesM&A

  Cellebrite sought to broaden its offering from mobile-device extraction to computer forensics.

  What changed. It acquired BlackBag Technologies and incorporated its computer-forensics capabilities, including MacQuisition.

  Aftermath. The transaction expanded Cellebrite’s coverage of Apple-computer and wider digital-evidence investigations.

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• 2007Enter the mobile-forensics marketStrategy

  Cellebrite had originated in mobile-device data transfer for carrier retail and support environments.

  What changed. The company created an independent mobile-forensics division and launched UFED for investigative customers.

  Aftermath. The move became the foundation of Cellebrite’s international digital-forensics business.

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• 2024Serbia device-unlocking and spyware allegationsControversy

  Amnesty International reported that Serbian police used Cellebrite tools to access devices belonging to a journalist and activists and that spyware was subsequently installed. Cellebrite later announced restrictions on use by certain Serbian customers.

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• 2021Human-rights concerns over public listing and government customersControversy

  Civil-society organizations argued that Cellebrite should address human-rights risks, customer transparency, and safeguards before becoming publicly traded. Separate reporting connected its products with government investigations and alleged abuses in multiple countries.

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• 2021Security vulnerabilities reported in forensic softwareControversy

  Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike reported vulnerabilities and outdated software components in UFED and Physical Analyzer. The disclosure raised concerns about whether malicious files could affect forensic work and reports. Cellebrite said it audited and updated its software.

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• 2025Cellebrite announces acquisition of Corellium

  Cellebrite acquired Corellium, a company specializing in virtualized mobile-device environments used in security research and analysis.

  M&A
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• 2024Cellebrite announces acquisition of Cyber Technology Services

  The acquisition added a Virginia-based cybersecurity business with federal-project and high-clearance capabilities.

  M&A
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• 2021Cellebrite completes public-company merger and begins Nasdaq trading

  Cellebrite completed its combination with TWC Tech Holdings II Corporation and traded under the ticker CLBT.

  M&AOther
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• 2020Cellebrite announces acquisition of BlackBag Technologies

  The acquisition expanded Cellebrite’s digital-intelligence portfolio into computer forensics and added BlackBag’s MacQuisition capabilities.

  M&A
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1. Cellebrite
2. Cellebrite corporate website