Against the backdrop of the IAPP Privacy. Security. Risk. 2025 in San Diego, there are indications the privacy technology vendor ecosystem and venture capital funding is starting to kick back into gear after the marketplace experienced multiple years of slowed investments, mergers and acquisitions.
The recent sales of Securiti AI to Veeam and TrustArc to The Hague-based Main Capital Partners last month represented the first major acquisitions in the privacy tech vendor marketplacein recent years.
Securiti AI was sold to Veeam for USD1.73 billion. According to Veaam, the partnership will see the companies build a unified data resilience platform through data security posture management for organizational privacy, governance and artificial intelligence trust.
Speaking to the IAPP at PSR 2025, Securiti AI Vice President of AI Governance and Privacy Cassandra Maldini, AIGP, CIPP/US, CIPM, FIP, said the acquisition shows the privacy tech vendor marketplace is recapturing the energy swirling in the late 2010s and early 2020s, which saw venture capital funding flow into privacy tech startups.
Maldini indicated consolidation and acquisitions within the tech vendor ecosystem slowed after 2022 because the novelty of new commercial AI systems left companies in a place where they developed "fear of missing out," which created some stagnation among investors until companies could operationalize AI solutions in real-world business contexts.
"The tech vendor market is hot right now," she said. "So why the dip to now where we're seeing skyrocketing mergers and acquisitions? There is a realization that the AI hype forced companies to step back and assess what generative AI means from an actual business standpoint."
The TrustArc sale to Main Capital Partners was announced 20 Oct. In a blog post on TrustArc's website, CEO Jason Wesbecher said the acquisition will provide opportunities to expand product offerings in the EU and India and accelerate AI innovation for compliance and risk management.
"(Main Capital Partners') investment in TrustArc is a strong endorsement of the company we've built together and the opportunities ahead," Wesbecher said in a statement.
TrustArc Chief Technology Officer Eric Sendelbach told the IAPP the sale was a recognition of the innovative products his company has released over the years and will set the company up for success in the vendor marketplace in the years to come. He declined to provide the amount of the final transaction price tag.
"It's a good time for us, we have a great new partner who is focused on growth," Sendelbach said at PSR. "There's a lot of interest in this market right now."
The acquisition would not have a major impact on TrustArc's current operations and staffing levels, according to Sendelbach, noting, "There's a lot of energy that is putting privacy front and center right now. The money always follows the direction where interesting industries are going."
Securiti AI's Maldini said the acquisition of her company will strategically position Securiti AI and Veeam to react to the ripples the AI boom has had in the marketplace. She anticipated that the recent sales of both firms is just the beginning of a new wave of mergers and acquisitions.
"We're a platform that is built for the moment we find ourselves in," Maldini said. "We're 100% all systems go, and we're going be there for our customers with scale to serve them."
Alex LaCasse is a staff writer for the IAPP.
