BlackBerry completes acquisition of security company Cylance

Today BlackBerry completes the acquisition of Cylance. It is the largest takeover ever for the company, costing USD 1.4 billion (EUR 1.2 billion). Thanks to the acquisition of this private company in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, BlackBerry is now a billion dollar company in this industry.

“Today, BlackBerry has taken a huge step towards our goal of being the world’s largest and most reliable AI-cybersecurity company,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry. “Securing endpoints and the flow of data in between is essential in today’s world of hyperconnectivity. Cylance’s technology is a welcome addition to our arsenal of cybersecurity solutions. We help businesses intelligently connect, protect and build secure and reliable endpoints.

Predicting threats

Cylance’s technology aims to predict known and unknown threats to endpoints. The company claims that this requires little memory and power, and with this pitch it has already attracted more than 4,000 business customers worldwide. Cylance did so under the leadership of CEO Stuart McClure, who will remain as director of BlackBerry Cylance. So it remains up to McClure to promote the company and to lead the team of data scientists.

Earlier, Cylance knew how to interest several investors. In recent years, it has raised $300 million (€263.9 million) from Dell Technologies and Blackstone, among others, in investment rounds. The company has locations in various countries, including the United States, but also here in the Netherlands.

The ultimate goal is to combine BlackBerry’s mobility and security solutions with Cylance’s AI technology. The underlying idea is that these techniques can then together offer a single, comprehensive platform. BlackBerry will announce the first financial results of BlackBerry Cylance in the fourth quarter.