Topic
16 facts from 2 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
2007
Ahlberg says the idea for Recorded Future came to him while running on a treadmill, after Spotfire's sale was signed but before it closed.
“I was like I was on the treadmill running and and, uh, uh, literally, uh, while we we had signed the deal to sell Spotfire, but we hadn't closed yet.”
2008
Ahlberg says Recorded Future took early venture funding from In-Q-Tel and Google Ventures around 2008-2009.
“ended up taking money from Incutel and Google Ventures back in 2008, 9 or something like that”
2008
Ahlberg says Recorded Future's first entity and event extractors were written as large stacks of if-then-else rules.
“We wrote our first entity extractors and event extractors with, like, lots of if then elses just stacks of if then else statements”
2016
Christopher Ahlberg says a hacker broke into the US Electoral Assistance Commission using a SQL injection and extracted information.
“some guy there had broken into this thing called, uh, Electoral Assistance Commission, EAC, and and, uh, he had hacked it in good ways using a SQL inject, extracted a whole bunch of information”
2016
Ahlberg says Recorded Future found a hacker's advertisement for access to the Electoral Assistance Commission and bought the access before anyone else did.
“we found it before somebody else and and actually bought the access, crazily enough”
2022
Ahlberg says that after Russia's invasion Recorded Future provided its technology to Ukraine, which was already a customer.
“when the invasion happened, we did not approve of that. So we said, let let's help out, and, um, we provided our technology”
2024
Lukas Biewald says Recorded Future announced it was being acquired by Mastercard for $2.65 billion.
“you announced that, uh, you you were getting acquired by by Mastercard for $2.65 billion”
2024
Ahlberg says Mastercard's payments data could reveal whether stolen credit cards were used, which would help trace the criminal supply chain behind them.
“we get our hands on a stolen credit card, it would be awfully interesting to know whether that card has been used or not”
2024
Mastercard acquired the threat intelligence company Recorded Future in December 2024.
“through, um, a company that we've acquired in December 2024, Recorded Future, we scan the world out there”
Undated
Ahlberg says the company was first going to be called Recorded Time, a Macbeth reference, but the domain name was taken, so it became Recorded Future.
“Then, of course, the domain name recorded time was taken, and it became recorded future”
Undated
Ahlberg says Recorded Future ran an intelligence business and a quant trading signals business in parallel for several years before a Series C investor urged it to kill the trading track.
“for multiple years ran an intelligence track and a quant trading track to to create quant trading signals”
Undated
Ahlberg says Recorded Future replaced per-language entity extractors with one model that spans roughly 15 to 30 languages.
“Now that that is one coherent model that sort of spans, I don't know, 15, 30 languages”
Undated
Ahlberg says about 47 countries use Recorded Future in some national capability.
“we have probably 47 different countries around the world that use us in in some sort of, uh, national capability”
Undated
Ahlberg says Recorded Future chose not to have customers in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
“chose to not have customers in China and Russia and and and, e- Iran and North Korea”
Undated
Ahlberg says Recorded Future has about 2,000 customers and that each goes through a know-your-customer check.
“our stuff is fairly expensive, so we only have 2,000 customers”
Undated
Ahlberg says the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation issued a statement declaring Recorded Future an 'undesirable' enemy of the state.
“the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation put out a statement around why Recorded Future is an enemy of the state.”
Episodes