In this episode of Resilient Cyber, I sat down with my friend and the Founder of Return on Security (RoS), 💰 Mike Privette.
Mike is the among the best our community has to offer when it comes to analyzing the macroeconomic trends of the cybersecurity ecosystem, from M&A, fundraising, startups, innovation, and venture capital.
We will dig into the macroeconomics of cyber this past year, key trends, takeaways, the outsized role AI has or hasn’t had and what 2026 may hold as we look ahead.
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Mike and I covered a lot of ground, including:
High-level macroeconomic major trends in Cybersecurity from 2025, what differs and what stayed the same.
Increased activity at later-stage and public cyber companies.
Conversely, how many are either voluntarily, or involuntarily choosing to stay private later and longer due to a lack of increased scrutiny, more freedom and abundant capital.
The role of AI, including major significant AI Security-focused exits and acquisitions, along with what Mike dubs the “AI Absorption”, where true standalone AI Security companies only represented 9% of cyber deals and just 3% of funding, despite how the headlines may feel.
How we’re moving into the governance phase of the AI evolution, as the industry matures beyond AI and Agent basics, and now look to cover foundational activities such as visibility, governance, posture management and eventually detection and response (D&R).
