The startup's deal comes after private equity firm Thoma Bravo completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of Darktrace in October.
Darktrace announced Thursday that it plans to acquire cloud threat investigation startup Cado Security, in the cybersecurity vendor's first acquisition since its acquisition last fall.
Terms of the Cado Security acquisition – which is expected to be completed in February – were not disclosed.
(Related: 10 Cybersecurity Startups to Watch in 2025)
Cado Security, founded in 2020, offers what it calls the first forensics and incident response platform in the cloud. The digital forensics platform is cloud-based and focuses on automating investigation and response efforts, the company said.
Cado has been recognized several times as a cloud security startup to watch by CRN, while it is also among the few early-stage companies to be named to CRN's Security 100 list in 2023.
In a press release on Thursday, Darktrace said it expects to continue investing in Cado's existing products once the deal closes. The cybersecurity vendor also plans to integrate Cado's forensic technology with its ActiveAI Security Platform, ultimately “enhancing data collection across multiple cloud environments,” Darktrace said in the statement.
The startup's deal comes after private equity firm Thoma Bravo completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of Darktrace in October.
The announcement also comes as part of a busy start to cybersecurity vendor consolidation in 2025. Other major security industry vendors to announce acquisitions this week include WatchGuard, 1Password and Veracode.
These moves follow increased M&A activity in 2024 in the cybersecurity market, amid growing customer demand for unified security platforms as well as budget and staffing considerations.
