AI Propels Next Phase of Cybersecurity Investment (PitchBook)

Summary

• AI-native cybersecurity accounted for 50.5% of global cybersecurity VC deals in 2025.p.1
• AI cyber deal sizes appear around 20% higher than their non-AI peers, and AI cyber companies show higher median MOICs.p.10
• The 14 public vendors tracked accounted for just 18% of global cybersecurity industry revenue in 2023.p.3
• Cybersecurity retention rates exceed 90%, implying customer lifetimes of a decade or more.p.3
• AI's contribution to global cloud spending is expected to reach roughly $150 billion by 2028.p.4
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency received approximately $3 billion for fiscal 2025, with about $1.7 billion directed to programs countering sophisticated campaigns.p.12

Key insights

1. AI-native companies represented 50.5% of all global cybersecurity VC deals by count, the highest share on record.p.11
2. AI-generated polymorphic malware can produce a new, unique instance roughly every 15 seconds during an attack.p.8
3. Even dataset contamination below 0.01% of total training volume can meaningfully alter model behavior without detection.p.10
4. The Department of Homeland Security allocated $91.7 million through the State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.p.12
5. Cloud was the fastest-growing cybersecurity end-market segment, with a five-year CAGR of 87% from 2018 to 2023.p.5
6. Prompt injection is ranked as the top risk in OWASP's 2025 Top 10 for LLM Applications.p.9