South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that its co-CEO Han Jong-hee, 63, passed away due to a heart attack. 

He headed Samsung’s digital appliances division, as well as its device experience unit, which includes mobile phones and home appliances. 

Han joined Samsung in 1988, rising through the ranks over the years and becoming the head of the product research and development team at the company’s visual display division in 2011. He was appointed CEO in 2022, according to the company website.

The company in a statement credited Han with helping Samsung become a global leader in TV business and for contributing to the company’s growth as an executive during a challenging business environment.

“Our deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time,” Samsung said.

Han, one of four executive directors on Samsung’s board, had hosted the company’s annual general shareholders meeting in Suwon, South Korea, just one week ago, fielding questions about the firm’s poor stock performance.

The company said Jun Young-hyun— who was appointed as co-CEO in November last year— will become the sole CEO.

Samsung last year announced changes in the leadership of its memory and foundry chip divisions amid intense competition in the semiconductor space, appointing Jun as co-CEO and head of the memory chip arm.

Embattled genetic testing company 23andMe, once valued at $6 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Missouri federal court on Sunday night.

The company’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki, has resigned from her role as chief executive effective immediately, though she will remain a member of the board. Joseph Selsavage, 23andMe’s chief financial and accounting officer, will serve as interim CEO, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We have had many successes but I equally take accountability for the challenges we have today,” Wojcicki wrote in a post on X early Monday morning. “There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering.”

23andMe declined to comment further on the filing.

The former billionaire co-founded 23andMe in 2006, and the company rocketed into the mainstream because of its at-home DNA testing kits that gave customers insight into their family histories and genetic profiles. The five-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company went public in 2021 via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, which valued the company at around $3.5 billion at the time.

23andMe’s stock has mostly been in free fall in recent years as the company struggled to generate recurring revenue and stand up viable research and therapeutics businesses. As of Monday morning, the company has a market capitalization of around $25 million.

Last March, 23andMe’s independent directors formed a special committee to evaluate the company’s potential paths forward. Wojcicki submitted multiple proposals to take the company private, but all were rejected. The special committee “unanimously determined to reject” Wojcicki’s most recent proposal earlier this month.

If 23andMe’s plan to sell its assets through a Chapter 11 plan is approved by the court, the company will “actively solicit qualified bids” over a 45-day process. Wojcicki plans to pursue the company as an independent bidder, she said in her post on Monday.

23andMe has between $100 million and $500 million in estimated assets, as well as between $100 million and $500 million in estimated liabilities, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Beyond its financial woes, privacy concerns around 23andMe’s genetic database have swirled in recent years. In October 2023, hackers accessed the information of nearly 7 million customers.  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday issued a consumer alert urging residents to consider deleting their genetic data from 23andMe’s website.

23andMe said there will be no changes to the way that it stores, protects or manages customer data through the sale process, and it will continue operating business as usual.

“As I think about the future, I will continue to tirelessly advocate for customers to have choice and transparency with respect to their personal data, regardless of platform,” Wojcicki said.

Watch: The rise and fall of 23andMe

Google’s acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz could be a turning point for an uncertain IPO market and a mergers and acquisitions environment aching from a slowdown in deal activity.

Alphabet announced Tuesday that it plans to buy the Israeli cybersecurity startup for $32 billion in its biggest acquisition ever. The deal came months after an initial $23 billion offer fell through and Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport touted plans for an initial public offering.

While deal activity has slowed from its 2021 heyday, appetite has begun to pick up. 

SailPoint went public in February and CoreWeave, which sells Nvidia’s AI processors, said in a Thursday filing that it plans to raise up to $2.7 billion in its IPO that’s expected this week. Ticket vendor StubHub filed for an IPO Friday.

Wiz’s blockbuster deal could signal the opening of the floodgates for the IPO and M&A markets. 

Cybersecurity companies look particularly poised to win as companies hunt for ways to shield their highly profitable business models. CB Insights on Tuesday said cybersecurity solutions are one of the top acquisition target areas for 2025.

“Having a more complete offering for securing workloads in the cloud — that’s the core, the rationale behind [the Wiz] deal,” said Merritt Maxim, Forrester vice president and research director.

AI driving demand for more cybersecurity

The proliferation of artificial intelligence and the transition to the cloud has amplified the need for cybersecurity solutions.

More adept hacking schemes have accelerated since OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, expediting the need for cutting-edge solutions to fend off attackers. That’s made cybersecurity a key target area for companies looking to protect their business models, said Neil Barlow, partner at the law firm Clifford Chance.

“Hacks and phishing could effectively cause a business to crash,” said Barlow, who focuses on private equity M&A. “This is a business that is fundamental to operating, so cybersecurity has been a resilient area for quite some time.”

While megacap technology giant’s haven’t shied away from cybersecurity investments, AI tailwinds have forced companies to beef up their offerings. Google’s Wiz acquisition could force rival Amazon to make its own acquisition, Maxim said. Potential targets include startups Aqua Security, Orca Security and Sysdig.

“The Google-Wiz tie-up does give them some capabilities that make them stronger than AWS in some areas,” Maxim said. “AWS could target acquisitions to potentially bring their solution closer to Google.”

What’s next for the IPO market

Wiz’s mammoth buyout may dampen near-term sentiment for cybersecurity startups with IPO aspirations, but experts told CNBC they anticipate a pickup in the second half of the year.

One of those contenders is malware and phishing software maker Proofpoint, which told CNBC in October that it was exploring an IPO in the next 12 to 18 months. The company went private in 2021 in a $12.3 billion acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Forrester’s Maxim said Proofpoint and Illumio are companies ripe for IPOs in the coming months. Illumio, which offers data center and cloud security, was a member of CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list in 2017 and 2018.

Netskope, which also offers cloud security, is another company being closely watched for an IPO, said Brianne Lynch, head of market insight at EquityZen. Netskope told The Wall Street Journal last year that it was planning an IPO in the second half of 2025. The company may start to feel pressure from early investors hunting for liquidity 13 years after its founding, Lynch said.

Snyk, a cybersecurity startup founded about a decade ago, has also alluded to a public offering next year. The company was last valued at $7.4 billion and CEO Peter McKay said in a post last year that Snyk had crossed $300 million in annual recurring revenues.

The big question is whether now is the rip-the-band-aid off moment for companies that decide to IPO or whether market volatility will cause companies to once again kick the can down the road, Lynch said.