Recorded Future is widely regarded as the largest threat intelligence company in the world, providing real-time intelligence by analyzing data from open, dark, and technical sources using AI and machine learning. Christopher Ahlberg, Staffan Truve, and Erik Wistrand founded the company in 2009. Mastercard acquired Recorded Future in December 2024 for $2.65 billion.
Platform
Recorded Future’s Intelligence Cloud platform collects and analyzes data from over a million sources in real time.
The platform offers Threat Intelligence for real-time monitoring of threat actors, malware, and infrastructure. Vulnerability Intelligence provides risk-based vulnerability prioritization using exploit intelligence. Brand Intelligence detects brand impersonation, typosquatting, and fraud. SecOps Intelligence enriches alerts and helps SOC analysts with triage. Identity Intelligence monitors compromised credentials across dark web forums. Third-Party Intelligence assesses supply chain and vendor risk. Geopolitical Intelligence analyzes events affecting cyber risk.
The platform processes data in 12 languages and covers the open web, dark web, technical feeds, code repositories, and paste sites.
Financials
Prior to acquisition, Recorded Future had annual revenue of approximately $300 million. The company serves more than 1,900 clients across 75 countries, including government agencies in 45 countries. Over 50% of Fortune 100 companies are customers.
Mastercard Acquisition
Mastercard’s $2.65 billion acquisition in December 2024 represented a significant premium over Recorded Future’s $780 million valuation from Insight Partners’ purchase in 2019. Recorded Future continues to operate as a separate entity under Mastercard.
Post-acquisition, Mastercard launched Mastercard Threat Intelligence, the first threat intelligence offering applied to payments at scale. During six months of market testing, the solution identified malicious domains impacting nearly 9,500 ecommerce sites linked to an estimated $120 million in fraud.
Industry Standing
Recorded Future is widely regarded as the market leader in threat intelligence, distinguished by the breadth and depth of its data collection and the maturity of its AI analytics. The company’s Insikt Group research team regularly publishes detailed intelligence reports on state-sponsored threat actors, ransomware operations, and emerging attack techniques.