Darktrace To Acquire Cado Security, Boosting Cloud Threat Investigation

The deal for the startup comes after private equity firm Thoma Bravo completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of Darktrace in October.

Darktrace announced Thursday it plans to acquire cloud threat investigation startup Cado Security, in the first acquisition deal for the cybersecurity vendor since being acquired itself last fall.

Terms of the deal to acquire Cado Security — which is expected to be completed in February — were not disclosed.

Founded in 2020, Cado Security offers what it has called the first platform for forensics and incident response in the cloud. The digital forensics platform is cloud-native and focused on automating investigation and response efforts, the company has said.

Cado had been recognized several times as a cloud security startup to watch by CRN, while also being among the few early-stage companies to be included on CRN’s Security 100 list in 2023.

In a news release 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 investigation technology with its ActiveAI Security Platform, ultimately “enhancing data collection across multiple cloud environments,” Darktrace said in the release.

The deal for the startup comes after private equity firm Thoma Bravo completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of Darktrace in October.

The announcement also comes as part of the busy start to cybersecurity vendor consolidation in 2025. Other major security industry vendors to announce acquisitions just this week included WatchGuard, 1Password and Veracode.

The moves follow 2024’s surge of M&A activity in the cybersecurity market, amid growing customer demand for unified security platforms as well as budgetary and staffing considerations.