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Last month, the UK government issued a policy paper warning that should focus the minds of every PE investor in technology.
The document, titled Energy Sector Cyber Security Strategy, was direct: "The cyber threat has increasingly focused on critical national infrastructure systems, as hacktivist groups and high capability state actors strive to compromise these systems for political effect and propaganda victories."
In Europe, PE investors are already targeting cybersecurity investments focused specifically on AI-driven threats to critical infrastructure and defense.
Eurazeo is one such investor that has made notable deals in the sector. Last month, the Paris-based firm invested in Nextron Systems, a Frankfurt-based cybersecurity group focused on threat intelligence and cyber forensics, offering software products to address advanced persistent cyber threats. The company gets 60% of its revenue from critical infrastructure, public sector and defense clients.
It previously backed the merger of Bridewell, a UK cybersecurity company specializing in national infrastructure, and French cybersecurity specialists I-Tracing, alongside London-based Oakley Capital and Canada's Sagard.
"Our interest in cybersecurity, particularly for critical infrastructure and defense, corresponds to a structural shift in the threat landscape," said Jan Haase, managing director and head of the German-speaking DACH region in Eurazeo's Elevate team, which targets the lower mid-cap segment.
I'm Emily Lai, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at emily.lai@pitchbook.com or on LinkedIn.
Other PE investors in the space include Boston-based PSG Equity, which last year backed Glasswall, a UK group that uses patented technology to proactively rebuild files to eliminate risks such as malware and ransomware—a service used by government intelligence, defense, critical infrastructure and financial services clients.
AI has fundamentally upended the cybersecurity landscape. Attacks that once required weeks of sophisticated preparation can now be executed in hours; phishing campaigns are generated at scale; synthetic voices can clone executives in real time; and ransomware-as-a-service has put advanced attack capabilities in the hands of low-skilled actors. |
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| Your portfolio company just wired six figures to a criminal—and it will happen again |
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21,000+ U.S. businesses fall victim to email-based fraud every year. RSM's latest insight explores how business email compromise is driving vendor payment fraud across PE-backed companies—leading to irrecoverable cash losses and EBITDA impact.
Practical actions:
- Lock down payment change validation, not just email security
- Treat acquisition and integration periods as high-risk control gaps
- Operationalize shared ownership between finance and IT
Read the full article |
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Quantinuum, a Honeywell-backed quantum computing startup, went public on Thursday, becoming one of the segment’s biggest IPOs. Despite an initial pop, the stock ultimately closed flat after its first day of trading. What was Quantinuum’s IPO price?
A) $60
B) $45
C) $70
D) $80
Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch! |
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A selection from our most-read articles of the past few days.
- Corporates are spending heavily on AI, but Bain's latest survey found lackluster productivity gains and rising costs are putting AI application startups at risk of high churn. Find out more
- Partners Group's semi-liquid PE funds are gating and the contagion fears are real. The Swiss manager's limits on redemptions sent European firms' shares lower and put the entire private wealth-meets-private-equity model under the microscope. Read on
- Biotech is drawing crossover investors and asset managers back in as a hedge against AI-heavy portfolios, with biopharma exits already outpacing any quarter since the pandemic boom. Read more
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| (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) |
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“At such high valuations, the price ranges stop making a lot of sense.”
—Richard Segal, partner at law firm Cooley, speaking to PitchBook after SpaceX set a $135 share price for its IPO. Most IPOs set a range during their roadshow, but SpaceX’s move is highly unusual, write Rosie Bradbury and Michael Bodley. Read more |
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This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Emily Lai and Jacob Robbins. It was edited by Andrew Woodman and Michael Bruning.
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