Microsoft Drops $20B on Cyber Because Activision Wasn't Enough

Clippy's parent is back in the M&A streets with a $20B cyber bid — its biggest since buying a whole video game company. The moat is now a full-blown ocean. 🏰

Microsoft is closing in on a ~$20B acquisition of a cybersecurity leader, its largest swing since the Activision saga. When you have the balance sheet of a small continent, you don't build security — you just buy the entire category.

Antitrust lawyers are already stretching, but Redmond has gotten very good at the regulatory marathon. The bet: bolt security onto everything, lock enterprises in even harder, and let the recurring revenue compound.

Somewhere a dozen smaller cyber startups just had their exit comps rerated and their founders started drafting very optimistic board decks.