Okta Acquires AI Security Startup Permiso for Approximately $200M

Okta announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Permiso Security, an AI-focused identity security startup, signaling a strategic bet that demand for protecting AI agents and other machine identities will surge as enterprises increasingly deploy autonomous software across their operations. While the identity management company did not disclose the transaction’s financial terms, TechCrunch has learned from a source familiar with the deal that the acquisition is valued at just under $200 million and structured as nearly all-cash. An Okta spokesperson did not dispute the figure when contacted by TechCrunch but declined to comment on specific deal terms. Okta expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2027, subject to customary closing conditions. The move comes as identity management companies look to expand beyond verifying users at login, shifting toward continuous monitoring of what users, applications, and AI agents do once they gain authorized access to a network. This trend has intensified competition around securing machine identities as enterprises embed AI deeper into daily operations. Permiso, which emerged from stealth in 2022, develops software that helps security teams detect suspicious activity in cloud environments after users or applications have already been granted access. More recently, the startup has broadened its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identities. Founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin, Permiso specializes in identifying attacks that leverage stolen or compromised identities to move through cloud infrastructure. In April 2025, the company launched SandyClaw, a platform designed to analyze AI agent skills within a sandboxed environment, identifying malicious behavior before agents are deployed into production. The acquisition bolsters Okta’s push into securing AI agents and other non-human identities alongside its core identity management business. “Permiso will extend Okta’s identity security fabric with proven identity threat detection and response capabilities, and an incredible threat research and security team that will advance Okta’s threat detection and prevention capabilities,” Okta’s chief product officer Ely Kahn said in a prepared statement. Permiso has raised approximately $29 million to date, including an $18.5 million Series A round in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital. People familiar with the financing said that round valued the Palo Alto-based startup at roughly $80 million on a post-money basis.

via TechCrunch AI