This website uses cookies

Read our Privacy policy and Terms of use for more information.

This week's issue is backed by Rippling.

Hope you had a great weekend!

AI hasn’t made cybersecurity go away or be a “solved problem,” but it has given AI companies more reasons to own security capabilities.

I did a bit of data analysis over on LinkedIn about how Frontier AI companies, model labs, and AI platforms alike are investing heavily in cybersecurity companies.

But, as with everything in this industry, the moment you hit post, something new happens, so here’s the post with the updated image and transactions: https://www.returnonsecurity.com/p/if-you-cant-beat-them-buy-them

I don’t see “Big AI” slowing down anytime soon when it comes to cyber, and I expect to see many more deals like this. I also suspect we’ll see Big Tech and the next tier down “reenter the chat” and pick up the acquisition reins again.

PARTNER

Your compliance tool can tell you what's broken. Can it fix it?

Rippling can.

Rippling Automated Compliance helps teams move through every stage of GRC, from framework setup and evidence collection to AI-powered remediation and customer proof.

Back in April, Rippling launched with SOC 2. Now, the platform supports ISO, HIPAA, and custom frameworks, with broader integration coverage, a built-in portal for working with your auditor, and custom trust centers.

So teams can spend less time chasing proof and more time keeping audits and deals moving.

See Rippling in Action

Partner With Us

Table of Contents

😎 Vibe Check

Click the options below to vote on whether you are a practitioner, founder, or investor. Leave a comment, and I'll anonymously feature the best takes in the next issue!

Last issue’s vibe check:
Which security acronym/phrases deserves to be retired?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 XDR
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Zero Trust
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ CNAPP
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Non-Human
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ UEBA
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Other (leave a comment)

Nothing like some acronym soup and buzzwords to really get people out to vote! Shared anger can be a powerful thing, and I’m here for the rants. 🙏

I have to agree with the top three votes: XDR, Zero Trust, and UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics). CNAPP can see ya later, and since agents outnumber humans 100-1,000 to 1 now, can we call our user accounts “Pro-Human” instead of calling service accounts and agent IDs “Non-Human”?

I’m currently raising on this business concept - pre-revenue, pre-TAM, pre-founder, and pre-idea. Expecting to close a $150M pre-seed at a $100B post-money valuation in the next few weeks. Let me know if you want in. 😎

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

💬 “Other - The “AI TRiSM” term can go kick the biggest of rocks”

💬 “Other - Shift left”

💬 “My god I have always hated zero trust and would love to see it die. What a stupid, over-the-top & exaggerated phrase to just basically mean that having a bunch of unauth/flat user roles things is bad… how an entire category of the industry managed to piggyback off cloud to make ZTNA a thing I’ve no idea. Also led to the annoying trend of overly segmenting all the things. rant over”

💰 Market Summary

Private Markets

  • 6 venture funding rounds announced, totaling $165.5M

  • $200M in refinancing-related debt announced

  • 8 M&A announcements, including 2 divestitures, across 4 countries and 6 categories

  • 62% of M&A announcements were service companies

  • 1 company announced layoffs

Public Markets

  • $1.25B in convertible notes announced

  • 4 acquisitions were announced by 4 public companies to acquire private cybersecurity companies

  • 1 public cybersecurity company announced an agreement to be acquired

  • No pure-play public cyber company had an earnings report

» Trends, year-over-year charts, and every deal live on The Signal →

🏢 Funding

» Connect Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client to The Signal via the MCP for free. «

  • SentinelOne (US) · $1.25B convertible notes | endpoint security platform, from Undisclosed Qualified Institutional Buyers (more)

  • Sophos (GB) · $200M refinancing | suite of endpoint security tools, from GTCR (more)

  • Harmonic Security (GB) · $50.0M Series B | DLP for AI applications, led by Crosspoint Capital Partners (more)

  • Reach Security (US) · $50.0M Series B | security operations AI copilot platform, led by Top Tier Capital Partners (more)

  • Pluto Security (US) · $34.0M Series A | AI workspace security platform, led by Jump Capital (more)

  • Opsin (US) · $21.0M Venture Round | AI governance, led by SYN Ventures and Race Capital (more)

  • Defendify (US) · $6.5M Venture Round | MSSP for IT teams, investors undisclosed (SEC Filing)

  • CodeWall (GB) · $4.0M Pre-Seed | autonomous penetration testing platform, led by Osney Capital (more)

SEC filings may reflect partial or interim terms, and the final round numbers can change.

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

❌ Layoffs

  • XM Cyber, an Israel-based risk-based vulnerability management platform, reportedly reduced its Israeli workforce after selling its technology assets to CrowdStrike. The continuing business remains with Schwarz Group. (more)

🧪 Labs

There are levels to this game

📚 Great Reads

  • The implications of AI on Cybersecurity - I sat down with Reed Clayton from Codezero to talk about my view on the implications that the AI industry has had, and will have yet, on the cybersecurity industry and the way we

  • Looks Good to Me (LGTM) - This AI-generated song is a bop and has been in my head all week. Plus the lyrics are both hilarious and all too relatable at the same time.

*Sponsored

🫡 Signing Off

Have questions, comments, or feedback? Just reply back and let me know.

If you find this newsletter useful and know others who would, I'd really appreciate it if you'd forward it to them!

Mike P

P.S. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

Reply

Avatar

or to participate

Keep Reading

View more
caret-right