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LG Electronics plans to engage in developments in the field of automotive cybersecurity
Korean corporation LG Electronics plans to buy Cybellum, an automotive cybersecurity startup from Israel. The amount of the deal will be approximately $240 million.
According to official information, the deal will be carried out in several stages. First, LG will buy a 64% stake in Cybellum for $140 million, with the remaining $20 million to be provided in the form of an equity agreement. The latter will be formed after the trading process is completed. LG will then purchase the remaining share of securities, and as a result, the parties will announce the final value of the deal.
Investors in the Israeli startup include Blumberg Capital, Target Global, and others. They will receive large sums in the form of profits once the agreement is concluded.
The new acquisition confirms LG’s intentions to take a position in the promising sector of automotive equipment and software for it. The need for software in this industry has increased several times in the last few years. At the same time, the need for solutions that can provide cybersecurity for automotive software has also increased. The deal with Cybellum will allow the Korean corporation to strengthen its development in this area.
The Israeli startup was founded in 2016, and since then it has become a client of major companies, including Nissan, Toyota Tsusho, Jaguar Land Rover, and others. Cybellum technology makes it possible to detect and analyze the level of vulnerability of vehicle hardware and software.
LG and Cybellum did not cooperate before the acquisition negotiations, but experts do not rule out that the first joint project of the companies can be seen as early as 2022.
The startup’s developments are extremely important for the further development of modern cars. Connected to a common system, they attract cybercriminals and are a target for hacking. At the same time, it is difficult to hack such software, as it consists of several components. Modern technologies that are used in the automotive industry are regularly becoming more and more complex, and such trends will be observed in the future. Cars are becoming more autonomous, and at the same time, the number of systems connected to them will increase. And here the issue of security is acute, because breaking into a car gives access to information about the movement of a person, as well as can threaten his life.
LG plans to devote more resources to this segment, as well as to expand the range of services and products that are relevant to the modern world. In the spring of 2021, the corporation announced that it would shut down cell phone production and now wants to focus on new technologies, including robotics and artificial intelligence.