Visa Acquires Israeli Cybersecurity Firm BioCatch for $2.4 Billion

Visa, the American credit card and digital payments company, announced on Monday its acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash. BioCatch, which became a unicorn valued at $1 billion in late November 2023 following a secondary share sale, develops artificial intelligence systems that detect and prevent financial fraud by analyzing biometric and behavioral patterns such as typing rhythm and mouse movements. Founded in 2011 by Avi Turgeman and the late Benny Rosenbaum, BioCatch is led by CEO Gadi Mazor and employs around 280 people, half of whom are based in Israel.

The company protects 1.8 billion devices and 760 million users worldwide, serving over 350 banking clients across 21 countries, including more than 100 of the largest global banks. Visa expects the deal to close by the end of its fiscal second quarter in 2027. Andrew Torre, President of Visa’s Value-Added Services, highlighted the global cost of account takeovers and fraud at one trillion dollars annually and emphasized that BioCatch’s AI technology will help stop fraud before payment is made. Gadi Mazor stated that BioCatch’s behavioral intelligence, enhanced by real-time intelligence sharing among clients, positions the company to advance its mission of making transactions safer and protecting consumers from financial crime.

This acquisition marks the second major Israeli cybersecurity exit this year valued at around $1 billion or more, following the recent purchase of Israeli firm Oasis by Cyera for approximately $1 billion. Additionally, the Israeli tech and cybersecurity sector saw a landmark deal with Google’s acquisition of Wiz for about $32 billion. Together with other mergers and acquisitions, these deals total nearly $64.75 billion. The first half of the year alone saw $2.57 billion raised in cybersecurity funding, representing about one-third of the $7.6 billion raised across all Israeli high-tech sectors during the same period.