The Cybersecurity Takeover List: 6 Unicorns That Could Seek a Sale

As companies lose faith in the effectiveness of cybersecurity software and reexamine or rein in their spending on it, startups that sell that type of software have struggled to grow. Many of them will have little choice but to look for a buyout, some of their shareholders say, despite having raised record amounts of capital during the pandemic-fueled startup boom.

In the latest example, The Information reported on Thursday that cloud security startup Wiz made an offer to acquire its competitor Lacework, which had raised over $1.8 billion in capital, for less than $200 million.

“We’re going to see a lot more deals that look like Lacework and Wiz,” said Jay Leek, managing director of security-focused venture firm SYN Ventures. “The coming year will flush out the system, and a lot of companies are going to get left behind.”