Ever wonder what makes a cybersecurity giant tick? CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz reveals his unique ‘Goldilocks’ strategy for M&A, targeting companies in the ‘sweet spot.’ Their latest move? A $290 million acquisition of data observability startup Onum. What does this mean for the future of AI-native security operations?
In the dynamic realm of cybersecurity mergers and acquisitions, CrowdStrike CEO and cofounder George Kurtz operates with a discerning strategy, famously likening his approach to a “Goldilocks rule.” Instead of chasing mega-deals that often carry significant integration risks, Kurtz prefers to acquire startups precisely when they hit a crucial “sweet spot” – a stage where CrowdStrike can maximize value creation for its shareholders.
This philosophy stands in contrast to recent high-profile cyber acquisitions, such as Palo Alto Networks’ colossal $25 billion move for CyberArk or Google’s proposed $32 billion bid for Wiz. Kurtz firmly believes that true opportunity and reduced risk lie in strategically timed smaller acquisitions, allowing for seamless integration and accelerated innovation within CrowdStrike’s robust ecosystem.
Embodying this strategic vision, CrowdStrike, a company that debuted publicly in 2019 and boasts a long history of tactical acquisitions, recently announced its intent to acquire Onum. This data observability startup was purchased for approximately $290 million, a figure that underscores Kurtz’s preference for deals that are “just right” rather than excessively large, enabling focused value addition.
The Onum acquisition is particularly notable as it represents one of CrowdStrike’s initial significant deals following a widely publicized IT outage last year. While the outage prompted a temporary pause in closing new deals, Kurtz emphasizes that it did not derail the company’s M&A efforts. Instead, it offered an opportunity to set an even higher bar for potential targets, maintaining an active pipeline of promising companies, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists.
This particular deal for Onum materialized efficiently within three months. The Madrid-based startup, backed by prominent VCs like Dawn Capital and Insight Partners, captivated CrowdStrike primarily due to its advanced real-time pipeline detection capabilities. This technology allows for the immediate analysis and identification of threats or anomalies as data flows into a company’s systems, a crucial asset in modern cybersecurity.
Kurtz articulated the profound impact of such data integration, stating, “If you think about the data we have, we started becoming the Reddit of security data for all these AI models.” He highlighted that the continuous influx of diverse data significantly expands CrowdStrike’s competitive moat and enhances its capacity to tackle more complex and expansive problems from an AI perspective. This strategic accumulation of data is a core driver of their vision for an AI-native Security Operations Center (SOC).
Ultimately, the Onum acquisition is a testament to CrowdStrike’s unwavering commitment to evolving its platform through targeted, intelligent M&A. By selectively integrating cutting-edge technologies like Onum’s real-time data observability, CrowdStrike continues to fortify its position at the forefront of the cybersecurity industry, leveraging AI to build increasingly resilient and proactive defense mechanisms against emerging digital threats.
