Synopsis
Cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks is acquiring AI infrastructure startup Portkey to bolster its defences for autonomous AI systems. This move aims to provide enterprises with a centralised control plane for managing and securing AI agents. The acquisition is expected to close in Palo Alto Networks’ fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to approvals.Listen to this article in summarized format
The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal. The acquisition is expected to close in Palo Alto Networks’ fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to approvals.
Portkey, founded by BITS Pilani alumnus Rohit Agarwal and SRM Chennai alumnus Ayush Garg in 2023, is backed by Elevation Capital and Lightspeed. The startup raised $15 million led by Elevation Capital in February this year.
Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said in a LinkedIn post, "AI agents have become privileged insiders, reasoning and executing on behalf of users and companies. With that power comes a new category of risk. You cannot build an agentic enterprise without a centralised control plane to secure it."
"Portkey is a pioneer of AI gateways technology. Their platform is battle-tested at scale, processing trillions of tokens per month," Arora added.
