Cribl has acquired observability startup Tero, adding engineering expertise as the telemetry platform provider expands into application performance monitoring, host monitoring, and AI-native observability. The deal marks Cribl’s third acquisition in four months as it broadens its capabilities across observability and security.
Cribl expands observability strategy with third acquisition
The Cribl team will help lead the roadmap across host monitoring, application performance monitoring (APM), federated observability, and AI-native observability, bringing those capabilities onto the same open platform customers already use to collect, route, and optimize their telemetry.
“The best builders in observability are choosing to build with Cribl,” said Clint Sharp, co-founder and CEO of Cribl. “Ben has spent a decade on the hardest problem in this space: helping engineers control their data and know which of it actually matters. Now he and his team will help us take the next step, building observability directly on the platform our customers already trust with their data, for engineers and the AI agents working alongside them.”
The acquisition of Tero will be Cribl’s third in four months, following CardinalOps in July and Radiant Security’s AI SOC technology in August.
Tero’s team will join Cribl with deep knowledge of the market, credibility with customers and partners, and the experience to accelerate product development.
“We started Tero to help engineers understand their telemetry, not just collect more of it. Watching what Cribl was shipping, it became clear we could either compete with them or build it together,” said Johnson, now the VP of Observability at Cribl. “Cribl has the platform, the customers, and the momentum to define how observability works in the age of AI. That’s where I want to be building.”
What the Tero acquisition means for MSPs and MSSPs
Cribl’s acquisition of Tero could create new opportunities for MSPs, MSSPs, SIs, and VARs to expand their observability, security, and AI-related services offerings.
The acquisition also builds on Cribl’s recent purchases of CardinalOps and Radiant Security, signaling its intention to combine observability and security capabilities on a single open telemetry platform. For MSSPs and security-focused SIs, this could create opportunities around SIEM modernization, managed detection and response, security telemetry management, and detection engineering.
Partners could help customers consolidate disconnected security tools, improve threat visibility, optimize data collection and retention, and reduce the costs associated with managing large volumes of security telemetry.
Cribl’s expansion into AI-native observability could also give partners opportunities to develop services around monitoring AI applications, workloads, and autonomous agents.
As organizations introduce more AI-driven systems, MSPs and SIs could help customers monitor performance, identify infrastructure issues, and establish visibility into the telemetry generated by AI agents.
READ MORE: Acquisitions continue to target AI-related technologies across the industry, such as Vanta’s plan to acquire startup Pillar Security.