11:04 AM EDT, 09/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Mastercard ( MA ) agreed to buy cyber defense and intelligence company Recorded Future from Insight Partners for $2.65 billion, bolstering its security capabilities within the payments ecosystem.

Recorded Future offers real-time visibility into potential threats by providing digestible cybersecurity insights. It has more than 1,900 clients across 75 countries, including the governments from 45 countries and more than half of Fortune 100 companies, Recorded Future and Mastercard ( MA ) said in a joint statement released Thursday.

"Recorded Future adds to how we deliver that greater peace of mind before, during and after the payment transaction," Mastercard ( MA ) Chief Services Officer Craig Vosburg said. "Together we will innovate faster, create smarter models and anticipate emerging threats before cyberattacks can take place -- in payments and beyond."

The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

Both companies already use artificial intelligence to analyze "billions of data points to identify potential threats," they said. Combining their teams and capabilities will unlock synergies and enable the development of more robust practices, according to the joint statement.

The companies began collaborating on an AI-supported service earlier this year that alerts financial institutions when a card is likely to have been compromised.

"By joining Mastercard ( MA ), we see an opportunity to help more businesses and governments determine the steps to realize their full potential -- and to enable everyone to feel safer in their daily lives," Recorded Future Chief Executive Christopher Ahlberg said.

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