The Full-Body Scanners Will See You NowRead Now

From left, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos by Bloomberg

Google in Talks to Buy Mandiant, a $4.5 Billion Cybersecurity Firm

Photo: From left, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos by Bloomberg

Google is in talks to buy cybersecurity consultancy Mandiant, which two years ago discovered the infamous SolarWinds hack, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. A deal could bolster Google’s cloud computing business, which generates more than $19 billion annually but has been losing billions of dollars a year, and help it compete with bigger rival Microsoft, which also is reportedly interested in buying Mandiant.

Google’s multibillion-dollar acquisition effort, if consummated, would be its second-largest ever. It comes as some employees have privately discussed the need for more security firepower to compete with Microsoft, which offers more security products for its Azure cloud customers, as well as with Amazon Web Services.

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
Market Research culture
The Full-Body Scanners Will See You Now
Art by Clark Miller.
In late September 2022, Ryan Crownholm, a 46-year-old entrepreneur from Los Angeles, donned a pair of plush surgical scrubs and hopped onto a stainless-steel MRI table at Prenuvo, a fast-growing chain of body-scanning clinics. Crownholm, the founder of landscaping service DirtMatch, was undergoing an elective MRI, which cost him $2,500 and would generate a full 20-page set of diagnostics about...
Latest Briefs
 
Twitter Releases Ranking Source Code Ahead of Verified-Check Removals
Meta Tells Managers to Temporarily Stop Hiring Remote Workers
Fidelity Marks Down Twitter Stake Another 7.9%
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
From left, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Google Brain chief Jeff Dean. Photos by Getty, Bloomberg
Exclusive google ai
Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Pause Grudges, Join Forces to Chase OpenAI
OpenAI’s success in overtaking Google with an artificial intelligence–powered chatbot has achieved what seemed impossible in the past: It has forced the two AI research teams within Google’s parent, Alphabet, to overcome years of intense rivalry to work together.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups
Don’t Build the Wrong Kind of AI Business
At a catch-up coffee a few weeks ago, a founder friend asked me, “What AI thing should we build?” It was the third time that week a founder had asked me the same question.
Orlando Bravo, co-founder of Thoma Bravo LLC. Photo by Bloomberg.
DEALS enterprise
Private Equity Firms’ Secret Weapon for Big Software Buyouts
When Thoma Bravo was drawing up the financing of its $8 billion acquisition of Coupa Software last year, the private equity giant didn’t turn to a bank, and it didn’t get a traditional loan.
Art by Clark Miller.
Market Research e-commerce culture
The Skin-Tech Devices Helping Execs Beautify in a Hurry
I’m always 29 at heart,” said Liyia Wu, CEO of ShopShops, a livestream shopping app for fashion, beauty and lifestyle products.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion entertainment media/telecom
The Streaming Business Model Is Hitting Its Half-Life
Sign up for Rosen’s newsletter, Parqor, part of The Information’s newsletter network.
Org Charts microsoft ai
The People Who Make OpenAI Run Fast
Sam Altman has been the face of OpenAI as it quickly outmaneuvered rivals such as Google to launch cutting-edge artificial intelligence to the public.