Graphite spyware maker Paragon heads to Nasdaq at a $1.25 billion valuation
Paragon, maker of the Graphite spyware, will go public through a Nasdaq SPAC merger at a $1.25 billion pre-money enterprise value. The price rests on $267 million in revenue, up 29%, earned jointly with REDLattice, a contractor to US defense and government agencies.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- REDLattice is the party merging with Nasdaq-listed Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp., and Paragon will trade under the REDLattice name once the deal closes, planned for around year end.
- Graphite, Paragon's flagship product, is a mobile surveillance system designed to infiltrate apps on a phone and collect their data.
- WhatsApp disclosed in January 2025 that Paragon spyware had targeted about 90 of its users, and journalists and rights workers later said Graphite had targeted their devices.
- Paragon was founded in 2019 by Israeli intelligence veterans, among them Ehud Schneerson, a former commander of Unit 8200.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction Paragon says its work for democratic governments and its rigorous control mechanisms remain central, yet WhatsApp's disclosure, a month after the AE deal, tied its tool to civil society targets.
- Who's exposed exposure After listing, Graphite's owner has to report in SEC filings, and Roberts said shareholders gain "real levers, from proxy votes to divestment" over how the company behaves.
- What it limits constraint Policymakers trying to curb spyware now face a vendor with listed stock to fund growth and acquisitions. Roberts said that for them "this isn't a good sign."
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REDLattice, the US half of the business, provides what it calls "lawful intercept" solutions for military, defense and law enforcement agencies [5]. AE Industrial Partners bought Paragon in December 2024 and merged the two [7]. Israel stays the hub for research and development, a condition written into that sale [8]. Goldman Sachs and AE Industrial Partners are advising on the listing [12].
At $1.25 billion, the deal values the combined company at about 4.7 times trailing revenue [17]. Backing out the 29% growth puts revenue for the 12 months to June 2025 near $207 million [18]. The company added roughly $60 million in a year [19].
Those figures describe a contractor that sells to governments, with a spyware maker inside it, growing 29% and drawing a SPAC and a bank to bring it to market [2][1][12]. Neither Calcalist nor The Record splits the revenue between Graphite and REDLattice's other work, or reports it by customer country, so the share that comes from spyware sold to US agencies is unknown. REDLattice's chief executive described the buyers only as government.
"This transaction provides the capital and public market currency to accelerate our organic growth, expand our product portfolio and pursue disciplined M&A across adjacent mission-critical capabilities, while continuing to deliver for our government customers who depend on us every day," REDLattice CEO Andy Boyd said [20].
Paragon plans to use public-company status to expand global operations, spend more on technology, products and artificial intelligence, and make acquisitions, according to Calcalist [21]. Jen Roberts, associate director of the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, said the move signals "the spyware vendor's ambition and investor confidence" [13].
What to watch
- The first SEC filings from the combined REDLattice-Paragon company, and whether they report Graphite revenue or customer countries separately.
- Whether the Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp. merger closes around the end of the year, as REDLattice plans.
- Which surveillance or intercept vendors the combined company buys with its listed stock.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption45
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives75
- Confidence60
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Paragon will go public through a merger with a Nasdaq-listed SPAC at a pre-money enterprise value of $1.25 billion.
- [2]
Paragon and REDLattice generated combined revenue of $267 million in the 12 months ended June 2026, a 29% increase from the same period a year earlier.
- [3]
Paragon's flagship product is Graphite, a mobile surveillance and espionage system designed to infiltrate applications and collect data.
- [4]
REDLattice is combining with the Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp. and plans to close the deal around the end of the year, at which point Paragon will begin trading on Nasdaq under the REDLattice umbrella.
- [5]
REDLattice provides what it calls "lawful intercept" solutions for military, defense and law enforcement agencies.
- [6]
REDLattice is a US cybersecurity company that serves American defense and government agencies.
- [7]
In December 2024, US investment firm AE Industrial Partners acquired Paragon and merged it with REDLattice.
- [8]
As stipulated in the 2024 sale to AE Industrial Partners, Israel will remain the company's hub for research, development and innovation after the transaction.
- [9]
In January 2025, WhatsApp revealed that Paragon spyware had been used to target about 90 of its users.
- [10]
In the weeks after WhatsApp's disclosure, several journalists, human rights workers and other members of civil society said their devices were targeted with Graphite.
- [11]
Paragon was founded in 2019 by Israeli intelligence community veterans Idan Nurick, Igor Bogudlov and Liad Avraham, together with Ehud Schneerson, former commander of Unit 8200.
- [12]
Goldman Sachs and AE Industrial Partners are advising on the transaction.
- [13]
Jen Roberts, associate director and fellow with the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, said the decision to go public signals "the spyware vendor's ambition and investor confidence."
- [14]
Once listed, Paragon will be obligated to share more about its activities in SEC filings; Roberts said: "Public companies face disclosure requirements, and shareholders gain real levers, from proxy votes to divestment, to shape how the company behaves."
- [15]
Roberts said that for policymakers trying to "curb proliferation of these capabilities, this isn't a good sign."
- [16]
Paragon said its work with democratic governments and security and law enforcement agencies, its adherence to Israeli and international regulations and its implementation of rigorous control mechanisms will remain central to its operations.
- [17]
The $1.25 billion pre-money enterprise value is about 4.7 times the $267 million in trailing combined revenue.
- [18]
Combined revenue for the 12 months ended June 2025 was roughly $207 million.
- [19]
Combined revenue rose by roughly $60 million year over year.
- [20]
"This transaction provides the capital and public market currency to accelerate our organic growth, expand our product portfolio and pursue disciplined M&A across adjacent mission-critical capabilities, while continuing to deliver for our government customers who depend on us every day," REDLattice CEO Andy Boyd said.
- [21]
As a public company, Paragon plans to expand its global operations, increase investment in technology, products and artificial intelligence, and pursue strategic acquisitions.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- calcalistech.comCalcalist Tech
1 article · September 29, 2026
- therecord.mediaControversial spyware firm Paragon to go public by end of year
1 article · September 29, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Unit 8200
- Goldman Sachs
- AE Industrial Partners
- Paragon Solutions
- Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp.
- Atlantic Council Cyber Statecraft Initiative