💰 Security, Funded #158 - Real G's Move in Silence 🍝

Hey there,

I hope you had a good weekend! This issue is coming at you on Tuesday this week because yesterday was a holiday in the UK. Next week, this newsletter will also come on Tuesday because of Labor Day in the US as everyone tries to capture those last fleeting summer days.

We’ve got another quiet week on the funding and M&A front as VC Summer™️ continues (and boy, is it quiet!), so this is a shorter issue and a newsletter first with the data. On the economic front, however, things looked pretty positive last week regarding the potential for the US Fed rate cuts. Everything in the public markets has been up and to the right.

Last week, I got this awesome package from Beehiiv, which included a hat, a custom black card (“Yeah, I’ve got a black card 😏”), and a handwritten note from the CEO.

If you’re considering launching a newsletter, you should definitely check out Beehiiv. There’s simply no better place to launch and grow a newsletter.

Also, a shout-out to my friend Evgeniy Kharam for publishing his first book, Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical Sales: Connect to Sell More. 👏 

Onward to this week's issue.

😎 Vibe Check

Last issue’s vibe check:
As we are now well into the second half of the year, what is your security program's top priority for the rest of the year? 
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤖 Figure out this "AI Security" thing (18)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🆔 Identity all the way down (16)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ⛈️ Wrangling cloud security (4)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🗜️ Tool consolidation or right-sizing (14)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🔮 Other (tell me!) (6)
58 Votes

Last week’s poll showed that three things are top of mind for security practitioners for the rest of this year: AI Security, Identity, and tool consolidation.

Some of the top comments from last week:

“Identity - Not the sexiest thing on the list, but it's more of an "eat your vegetables first" mentality.”

“AI Security - It's just a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma!”

“AI Security - A lot about scaling down and automating to survive this great recession.”

“Tools - The tool sprawl is out of control for our large organization.”

💰 Market Summary

📸 YoY Snapshot

Talk about quiet! Last week marked the quietest week by transaction volume and dollar amount for all of 2024 in the cybersecurity industry. 🤯 

Acquisitions continue to hum along, but at a lower average pace in 2024 than in 2023 and 2022. It’s been an interesting year so far, with more companies seeking a private exit (as opposed to going IPO) but fewer of them making it.

🤙 Earnings Reports

🧩 Funding By Product Category

• An undisclosed amount for Threat & Vulnerability Management (TVM) across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Cybersecurity Education & Training across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Privacy Assurance across 1 deal

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission.

🏢 Funding By Company

• CUBIG, a South Korea-based platform using synthetic data to protect sensitive data usage in AI applications, raised an undisclosed Venture Round from CNT Tech-DB Dream Big Investment Association.

• Cyberbit, a United States-based cybersecurity education and training platform, raised an undisclosed Private Equity Round from Charlesbank Capital Partners. (more)

• Nucleus Security, a United States-based automated threat and vulnerability remediation platform, raised an undisclosed Venture Round from Dcode Capital. (more)

🌎 Funding By Country

• An undisclosed amount for the United States across 2 deals

• An undisclosed amount for South Korea across 1 deal

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

• 3DOT Solutions, a United States-based professional services company focused on security operations and architecture services, was acquired by Nortal for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Control Gap, a Canada-based professional services company focused on offensive security assessments, was acquired by CyberGuard Compliance for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Vantyr, a United States-based SaaS governance platform focused on non-human identity connections, was acquired by Ark Infotech for an undisclosed amount. (more)

📚 Great Reads

• The Security Industry is Immature, But You’re Not - Joe Duggan discusses the cybersecurity industry's immaturity, highlighting its unique challenges and hidden incentive structures and offering insights for builders and practitioners to drive progress.

• Why Europe Should Embrace Open-Source AI - Mark Zuckerberg and Daniel Ek released a joint statement about how Europe should embrace open-source AI or risk falling behind due to incoherent and complex regulations.

• The Great Cloud Security Debate: CSP vs. Third-Party Security Tools - Anton Chuvakin discusses the debate between using Cloud Service Provider (CSP) security tools and third-party security tools, highlighting arguments for both sides.

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