Sources: Palo Alto Networks paid $500M in cash and stock to acquire agentic IT support startup Console; PitchBook: Console was valued at $157M before the sale (Marina Temkin/TechCrunch)

Palo Alto Networks acquired Console, a two-year-old startup that uses AI agents to automate routine IT support tasks. According to sources, Palo Alto Networks paid $500 million in cash and stock for the company. Prior to the sale, PitchBook reported that Console was valued at $157 million.

The acquisition was announced after Palo Alto Networks beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates. The company's CEO, Nikesh Arora, stated that legacy security systems cannot handle AI-speed attacks, making it a long-term growth driver for the industry. Arora also mentioned that AI is forcing companies to modernize roughly $1 trillion of aging cybersecurity infrastructure that isn’t equipped for attacks.

Palo Alto Networks views advances in artificial intelligence as making cybersecurity a higher priority for corporate technology leaders. The company sees the acquisition of Console as part of its efforts to address the changing cybersecurity landscape.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Quartz, Economic Times Tech, CNBC, CNBC World — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.