Venture capitalists are investing a record amount in cybersecurity firms and cyber spending could outpace IT spending by 2023, according to new reports from SharesPost.
Also, despite strong initial public offerings by cybersecurity firms Zscaler and Carbon Black this year, most will likely exit through mergers and acquisitions rather than IPOs, the reports say. Most likely acquirers are the tech giants, Symantec, Cisco, Microsfot, and Raytheon, all of which have been buying cyber startups.
“The cybersecurity industry is growing in complexity and scope to address the widening array of global threats,” said Rohit Kulkami, managing director of and head of research at SharesPost in a statement. “The upshot is that the cybersecurity market could continue to see capital flow to fund new companies and innovation. At the same time, cyber spending could outpace IT spending, creating a $155 billion market by 2023 from $95 billion today.”
Even with increased awareness, 61 percent of cybersecurity professionals surveyed by SharesPost reported numerous threats over the last 12 months, and that probably understates “the ubiquity of breaches,” because in doesn’t account for undiscovered breaches or those unreported. A whopping 90 percent of the cybersecurity pros say they plan to increase their spend on security software and insurance products over the next year.
The reports point out that cybersecurity is now an issue for entire countries, not just private companies and the public, which will increase the demand for cybersecurity products.
SharesPost is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered alternative trading system and registered investment advisor.
