Mastercard has agreed to acquire the cybersecurity company Recorded Future for $2.65 billion from the venture capital firm Insight Partners. The Boston-based Recorded Future services about 1,900 business and government clients in approximately 75 countries. The companies expect the transaction to be completed by the first quarter of next year, pending regulatory review and other closing conditions.
Mastercard already collaborates with Recorded Future on an artificial intelligence service that alerts banks when a credit or debit card has likely been compromised. Since the launch of that service earlier this year, the efficiency in spotting compromised cards has increased. Cybersecurity has become increasingly important in the age of digital payments.
Identity theft, imposter scams, and online hacks have made safeguarding customer data more critical than ever. As a technology company in the global payments industry, Mastercard has placed a significant focus on cybersecurity risk management as part of its overall enterprise risk management program. In addition to needing cybersecurity for its cards and payments businesses, Mastercard also provides cybersecurity services to other companies, including banks.
Analysts expect the acquisition of Recorded Future to bolster Mastercard’s competitive advantage. The purchase will build on Mastercard’s efforts in cybersecurity AI development.
Mastercard enhances cybersecurity with acquisition
Both Mastercard and Recorded Future use AI to analyze billions of data points to identify potential threats, helping to protect people and businesses. Bringing together these teams and technologies is expected to enable more robust cybersecurity practices and drive greater synergies. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach recently discussed the company’s cybersecurity advancements.
At a conference, he highlighted the use of AI-driven solutions to predict likely defrauded card numbers. “That sounds a little wonky, but that can actually be done,” he said. Mastercard is paying a premium on the $780 million valuation for Recorded Future when it was purchased by Insight Partners in 2019.
Recorded Future generates about $300 million in annual revenue and has 1,000 employees. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Christopher Ahlberg. Early investors included Google’s venture arm and the venture capital firm In-Q-Tel.
While Mastercard’s spokesperson did not comment on employee retention, the company emphasized its focus on innovation. We’re focused on building on the experience, expertise, and strengths of the teams to innovate faster and help our customers spot potential cyber attacks before they happen,” the spokesperson said.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
