Mastercard Boosts Cyber Resilience By Acquiring Recorded Future For $2.65 Billion

Mastercard has signed a $2.65 billion deal with private equity firm Insight Partners to acquire Recorded Future, a leader in threat intelligence. The acquisition marks a significant step for Mastercard in leveraging generative AI technology to enhance security in the payment ecosystem.

Recorded Future has been supporting Mastercard with its AI-powered analytics to spot potential threats since the beginning of this year, Reuters reported.

The collaboration has helped the payments company detect compromised cards at double the rate compared to last year, Mastercard stated. In 2023, the payments company handled transactions worth $9 trillion.

According to a TD Cowen report, Mastercard's decision to acquire Recorded Future aligns with its strategy to enhance its value-added services (VAS) with a focus on cybersecurity solutions. It also provides the company with an additional resource to bolster both network-based and non-network-based transactions. The deal is anticipated to close by the first quarter of 2025 and raise Mastercard's percentage growth in VAS in fiscal year 2025.

The rise of new technology has heightened the risk of cyberattacks, exposing more companies to hacking or ransomware attacks. Cybercrime is estimated to cost $9.2 trillion globally in the year 2024.

Recorded Future, considered to be a pioneer in the use of AI-powered analytics, is recognized as the world's largest threat intelligence company. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Recorded Future has its presence across 75 countries, catering to 1,900 clients, including governments from 45 nations and more than half of the Fortune 100 companies.

Founded in 2009, Recorded Future is currently valued at more than $780 million.

"Fifteen years ago, we created Recorded Future with a simple goal to secure the world with intelligence. By joining Mastercard, we see an opportunity to help more businesses and governments determine the steps to realize their full potential – and to enable everyone to feel safer in their daily lives," said Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Recorded Future.

With its emphasis in offering real-time insights into potential cyber threats by analyzing extensive data sources, Recorded Future's AI technology is expected to value add to Mastercard's services by expanding its threat intelligence capabilities and bolstering fraud detection. While, engaging with Mastercard's customer base could impact the growth of Recorded Future.

"Trust is the foundation of any relationship. Recorded Future adds to how we deliver that greater peace of mind before, during and after the payment transaction. Together we will innovate faster, create smarter models and anticipate emerging threats before cyberattacks can take place – in payments and beyond," said Craig Vosburg, Chief Services Officer at Mastercard.