American credit card and digital payments company Visa announced yesterday the acquisition of Israeli company BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash.
BioCatch became a unicorn (a valuation of $1 billion) back in late November 2023, when it completed a secondary transaction at a valuation of approximately $1 billion. The company's last known funding round was conducted in 2020, when it completed capital raises totaling $165 million.
The company operates from several global offices and employs about 280 workers, half of them in Israel. According to Visa, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of Visa's 2027 fiscal year.
AI-powered fraud detection
BioCatch develops artificial intelligence systems for detecting and preventing financial fraud by analyzing biometric and behavioral characteristics, such as typing patterns and mouse movements. The company was founded in 2011 by Avi Turgeman and the late Benny Rosenbaum, and is managed by CEO Gadi Mazor.
According to the joint statement, BioCatch protects 1.8 billion devices and 760 million users worldwide, serving more than 350 banking clients across 21 countries, including over 100 of the world's largest banks.
Andrew Torre, president of Value-Added Services at Visa, said: "The cost of account takeovers and fraud to the global economy stands at about $1 trillion annually, and artificial intelligence enables these attacks on an unprecedented scale. BioCatch will help our clients stop fraud before it reaches the point of payment. This acquisition is part of our strategy to help clients prevent upstream cyber threats."
Gadi Mazor, CEO of BioCatch, said: "For more than a decade, we have demonstrated the unique ability of behavior to distinguish between a criminal and a legitimate user. Over the past two years, we have shown how real-time intelligence-sharing networks among our clients can further amplify the power of our behavioral intelligence. Together with Visa, we are better positioned to advance our mission to make the world a safer place to transact and to protect consumers from financial crime."
Another record year for Israeli cyber
This marks the second cyber exit this year valued at approximately $1 billion or more, after Israeli firm Oasis, which manages non-human identity security and AI agents in organizations, was acquired last month by Israeli firm Cyera for about $1 billion, of which approximately $700 million was in cash and the remainder in Cyera shares.
This year also saw the completion of the mega-deal in Israeli tech and cyber, the Wiz transaction, which was sold to Google for approximately $32 billion. Along with it, four other mega-exits and mergers were completed, which together with Wiz accumulate to approximately $64.75 billion.
The first half of the year served the cyber sector particularly well, with approximately $2.57 billion raised, accounting for about a third of the roughly $7.6 billion raised during that period across all high-tech sectors.