Inside the Mind of CEO Daniela & CIO John

THE OPINION

📍 What’s Top of Mind This Week

This week, we’re seeing three major shifts that are reshaping the investment landscape:

🧩 The Cybersecurity AI Arms Race

The $135B cybersecurity market is being driven by AI, transforming the industry into a geopolitical battleground.

💡 Key Catalysts:

• Salt Typhoon Hack: Chinese state actors breached AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile in 2024.

• Forescout Research: 780 hacktivist attacks in 2024 targeting financial services, logistics, and government.

• RSA Conference Buzz: Agentic AI, which autonomously detects, responds, and resolves threats, is now the holy grail.

🔑 Top Players:

• Palo Alto Networks (PANW): Acquired Protect AI ($500M), expanding into AI-native cybersecurity.

• Alphabet (GOOG): Acquired Wiz for $32B to build integrated cloud-native security.

• CrowdStrike (CRWD), Zscaler (ZS), Cloudflare (NET): Leading the way as digital defense contractors.

📊 Rotation: From Semis to Software Defense

With rising tariffs and earnings pressure on semiconductors, investors are shifting focus to defensive growth in cybersecurity.

Performance Highlights (YTD):

⚡ Agentic AI = SOC Disruption

The shortage of engineers is making traditional Security Operations Centers (SOC) bottlenecked. Agentic AI is the solution.

Enterprise Impact:

• Auto-triage alerts

• Instant remediation

• AI-authored incident summaries

• End-to-end workflows without human intervention

Macro & Geopolitics Check-In

Nation-State Escalation: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are all ramping up their AI-powered cyber operations.

U.S. Policy Pivot: Homeland Security now views cyberspace as a primary sovereignty threat.

Tariff Shockwave: The market reacts to Trump's 60% tariff plan on China, spiking bond yields.

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United Vision: Where We’re Bullish

• Daniela (COO): “Generative AI solved security bottlenecks. But agentic AI is solving organizational latency. It’s the operating model of the future.”

• John (CIO): “In 2009, AWS and Apple rewrote the post-crisis economy. In 2025, AI + Security + Infrastructure is the next big rotation. Leaders will spend through the fear.”

🚀 Deal & M&A Highlights

• Alphabet x Wiz ($32B): Major acquisition signaling Big Tech’s cybersecurity buildout.

• Palo Alto Networks x Protect AI ($500M): Strengthening their AI-native cybersecurity capabilities.

• Microsoft Legal Strike: Sued malware network Lumma Stealer, marking the blurring lines between public and private defense.₿ Crypto Stability & Strategic Upside

What advice would you give?

CIO Portfolio Implications