💰 Security, Funded #170 - From Zoom Doubt to AI Clout

Hey there,

I hope you had a great weekend!

It was great visiting Portugal last week for Web Summit, and a shoutout to the Bright Pixel team for hosting a great evening event!

Web Summit was an interesting look into the business and consumer side of where AI is taking things, and cyber will have to be right there with it in lockstep.

Also, I’ll be sending out a few different surveys and polls these last few weeks of the year to get a temperature check on a few topics and make sure I’m still creating the kind of content and insights you want. The first one is a general demographic survey and is completely optional and confidential. I’m obviously a huge fan of data, so the more I know, the better I can make things.

I would really appreciate your support in filling these out! 🙏 

😎 Vibe Check

Last issue’s vibe check:
Should the CISO or security leaders be driving security programs with AI?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤠 Yes (16)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 👿 Nope (12)
28 Votes

It was a light week of voting last week (c’mon, people!), but it was fairly close to being evenly split on whether a CISO or security leaders should be using AI to drive security programs. Either way you look at it, however, the horse has already left the barn about 24 months ago. Almost every person in any position is looking to personally use AI in some way to make their lives a bit easier.

I think of AI as a tool that can enhance whatever X might be. It’s a compliment more than a means to an end. There’s a difference between “could” and “should,” however.

Some of the top comments from last week:

Nope - “I think AI is a compliment to something; not something that should drive an entire effort.”

Yes - “Not all programs. Not all the time. But yes. Security is historically 10 years behind the IT world. Getting ahead of AI means we make mistakes, but integrating and familiarizing with AI now is the difference between caught surprised by an attacker or internal project vs being prepared.”

Nope - “They should uninstall Zoom from the Windows servers, and sunset those FTP servers with 4 character passwords before they get distracted by AI stuff” 😂 

💰 Market Summary

📸 YoY Snapshot

A very quiet week in the post-US election world. I suspect much of this is just a timing thing so the dust can settle (even if temporarily) on the news cycle front. Last week was the fourth lowest week in cybersecurity funding in 2024 by dollar amount.

M&A, on the other hand, was still ripping and roaring. A few product-based companies even joined forces this week, which is a departure from the usual service-on-service business that normally makes up this scene.

☎️ Earnings Reports

🧩 Funding By Product Category

• $27.6M for Security Awareness across 1 deal

• $5.2M for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance across 1 deal

• $3.0M for Application Security across 1 deal

• $2.6M for Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) across 1 deal

• $1.0M for Anti-Bot across 1 deal

🏢 Funding By Company

• Riot, a United States-based security awareness platform focused on training employees about phishing and data breaches, raised a $27.6M Venture Round.

• SurePath AI, a United States-based AI risk and governance platform, raised a $5.2M Seed from Uncork Capital. (more)

• Symbiotic Security, a United States-based application vulnerability and remediation platform, raised a $3.0M Pre-Seed from Lerer Hippeau, Axeleo Capital, and Factorial Capital. (more)

• CyberUpgrade, a Lithuania-based managed security services provider (MSSP), raised a $2.6M Seed from FIRSTPICK, NGL, Specialist VC, and Superhero Capital. (more)

• Veracity Trust Network, a United Kingdom-based anti-bot platform, raised a $1.0M Grant from the Cyber Security Agency. (more)

🌎 Funding By Country

• $35.8M for the United States across 3 deals

• $2.6M for Lithuania across 1 deal

• $1.0M for the United Kingdom across 1 deal

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

• Cybersixgill, an Israel-based cyber threat intelligence platform, was acquired by BitSight for $115.0M. (more)

• AfricaIntel, a Nigeria-based dark web and cyber threat intelligence platform, was acquired by Smartcomply for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Coolspirit, a United Kingdom-based managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by Databarracks for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Cybereason, a United States-based endpoint detection and response (EDR) platform, merged with Trustwave for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Intraprise Health, a United States-based professional services firm focused on cyber risk management for healthcare systems, was acquired by Health Catalyst for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Probely, a Portugal-based dynamic application security testing platform, was acquired by Snyk for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Rezonate, a United States-based identity threat detection and response, was acquired by Silverfort for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Softrams, a United States-based professional services firm focused on cloud security and cyber risk management, was acquired by Tria Federal for an undisclosed amount. (more)

📚 Great Reads

🧪 Labs