💰 Security, Funded #186 - GWiz II (This Time it's Personal)

Hey there,

I hope you had a great weekend!

Just when I thought the drama was contained to last week in our industry, Wiz said, ‘Hold my beer.’ Wiz had talks again with Google, but this time with its parent company, Alphabet, to be acquired for up to $30 $32 billion (what’s a few extra billi between friends??), per the WSJ. A staggering fact - $32 billion is 71% of the total amount of cyber M&As in 2024. 🤯 

This renewed transaction brings up a few questions:

1. Why now? It’s only been about six months since they walked away from the last deal (for unknown reasons). In a post on LinkedIn, I covered some of Wiz's arcs, including its decision to turn down the previous $23 billion acquisition from Google Cloud. This signaled Wiz’s confidence in its growth trajectory and belief in the IPO route.

2. So why not stick with the IPO route? One possible answer is that the IPO window seemed to open with the new US administration, but the markets couldn’t be having a worse time. Why risk public market instability when a premium acquisition deal is on the table? Proceeding with an IPO now would risk losing too much value unless they are willing to wait for the market to improve (through either policy decisions or market adjustments, neither of which appear to be happening soon).

3. What does this mean for the cloud security market? While many view this as the industry's peak, others are looking at it with renewed vigor. “Finally, we can compete with Wiz out of the way!” many have started proclaiming. Whether they’re right or wrong, this was a defining moment for the industry, and we are now in the Third Wave of Cloud Security.

While you often hear the refrain that “the stock market is not the economy,” it is most definitely a mirror of broader economic expectations. Markets speak louder than political policies. Given the volatility in the tech sector, prolonged high interest rates, and shifting investor sentiment, an IPO could introduce significant downside risk.

Wiz's reentry into this deal is a clear sign that businesses aren’t going to venture into a chaotic market if they don’t have to, even if they have one of the best chances of making it big, as Wiz did. Ultimately, it’s about maximizing value for investors, founders, and employees (which I tried to do personally in the Labs section). 

If this deal makes it through the US Justice Department’s anti-trust review (a similar concern during the last M&A offer), it will become the largest M&A in the cybersecurity industry’s history. 👀 🍿 

😎 Vibe Check

Make sure to click on the options below to vote in this week’s poll!

Last issue’s vibe check:
As a security leader, what’s the toughest decision you have to make?
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💰 Deciding where to invest budget (4)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🛑 When to push back on leadership (11)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⚖️ Balancing security & business needs (14)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🚀 Adopting new tech vs. reducing complexity (13)
42 Votes

A security leader’s job is never finished. Just looking at the poll results from last week, it should be incredibly obvious that security teams have a lot to juggle, a lot of strategy to plan, and a lot of tactical, day-to-day issues to handle.

Do you know what else is clear? Security leaders have 99 problems, but where to invest their budget ain’t one (hit me!).

Some of the top comments from last week’s vibe check:

Balancing - “As AI really starts taking hold, there are a lot of shot-gun type approaches to see what sticks and has legs. This involves IT getting to know toolsets that might not be in the long haul. A little up-front about the lifecycle of the product being onboarded would be helpful.”

💰 Market Summary

📸 YoY Snapshot

A high transaction volume but a low funding total last week. As we reach April next week, I expect those funding rounds will ramp up as we get closer to the RSA Conference in the US.

M&A, on the other hand, was high-speed, low-drag. Not only was it the week with the largest cybersecurity acquisition in history, but it was also a week full of more than just one service company buying another.

☎️ Earnings Reports

🧩 Funding By Product Category

• $15.0M for Data Protection across 2 deals

• $12.0M for Threat Intelligence across 1 deal

• $8.8M for Mobile Application Security across 1 deal

• $6.0M for Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) across 1 deal

• $3.0M for Software Supply Chain Security across 1 deal

• $2.0M for Cyber Risk Management across 2 deals

• $155.0K for Autonomous Product Security Engineering (APSE) across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Secure Remote Access across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Penetration Testing across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Managed Detection and Response (MDR) across 1 deal

🏢 Funding By Company

Product Companies:

• Privy, a United States-based API platform for encrypting Web3 user data, raised a $15.0M Venture Round from Ribbit Capital. (more)

• VulnCheck, a United States-based threat intelligence platform for exploits, vulnerabilities, and initial access brokers, raised a $12.0M Series A from Ten Eleven Ventures. (more)

• Protectt.ai, an India-based mobile application security platform, raised a $8.8M Series A from Bessemer Venture Partners. (more)

• Orion Security, an Israel-based data security posture management (DSPM) platform, raised a $6.0M Seed from FXP and PICO Venture Partners. (more)

• Hunted Labs, a United States-based software supply chain security platform, raised a $3.0M Pre-Seed from Red Cell Partners. (more)

• Cyberating, an Italy-based cyber risk management platform, raised a $2.0M Pre-Seed round. (more)

• *Nullify, an Australia-based autonomous product security engineering (APSE) platform, raised a $155.0K Angel round from a16z Scout Fund, Black Nova Venture Capital, and various angel investors.

• Cyber Grant, a United States-based data rights management and protection platform, raised an undisclosed Seed from Mangusta Capital. (more)

• Evolve Security, a United States-based penetration and application security testing platform, raised an undisclosed Funding Round. (more)

• Knocknoc, an Australia-based secure remote access platform, raised an undisclosed Seed from Decibel Partners. (more)

Service Companies:

• Bluesify, a Malaysia-based managed security services provider (MSSP), raised an undisclosed Private Equity Round from Ekuiti Nasional Berhad. (more)

• CyberMaxx, a United States-based managed detection and response (MDR) platform, raised an undisclosed Debt Financing from Comvest Credit Partners. (more)

• HITRUST, a United States-based cybersecurity standard and risk management framework governing body, raised an undisclosed Private EquityRound from Brighton Park Capital. (more)

_{*A company in my portfolio}

🌎 Funding By Country

• $30.0M for United States across 7 deals

• $8.8M for India across 1 deal

• $6.0M for Israel across 1 deal

• $2.0M for Italy across 1 deal

• $155.0K for Australia across 2 deals

• An undisclosed amount for Malaysia across 1 deal

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

Product Companies:

• Wiz, a United States-based cloud workload protection and posture management platform, was acquired by Google for $32.0B. Wiz had previously raised $1.9B in funding. (more)

• Cyral, a United States-based cloud data governance and security platform, was acquired by Varonis Systems for an undisclosed amount. Cyral had previously raised $26.0M in funding. (more)

• Gretel, a United States-based synthetic data generation platform, was acquired by NVIDIA for an undisclosed amount. Gretel had previously raised $320.0M in funding. (more)

• LeakSignal, a United States-based cloud data governance and protection platform for cloud and network traffic, was acquired by F5 Networks for an undisclosed amount. LeakSignal had previously raised $1.6M in funding. (more)

• Maltiverse, a Spain-based cyber threat intelligence platform, was acquired by Lumu for an undisclosed amount. Maltiverse had previously raised $500.0K in funding. (more)

• NetWitness, a United States-based network security monitoring platform, was acquired by Partner One Capital for an undisclosed amount. NetWitness had previously raised $15.7M in funding. (more)

Service Companies:

• CBR Cyber, an Australia-based professional services firm focused on cybersecurity consulting and assessments, was acquired by Brennan IT for an undisclosed amount. CBR Cyber has not publicly disclosed any funding events. (more)

• Holiseum, a France-based professional services firm focused on cybersecurity risk assessments, was acquired by Integrity360 for an undisclosed amount. Holiseum has not publicly disclosed any funding events. (more)

📚 Great Reads

🧪 Labs