{
  "id": 5195366,
  "title": "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)",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/sources-palo-alto-networks-paid-500m-in-cash-and-stock-to-acquire",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-02T23:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Techmeme",
    "slug": "techmeme",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/02/palo-alto-networks-paid-500m-for-thrive-backed-console-sources-say/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nPalo 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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}