Accenture buys three OT cybersecurity firms — Dragos, runZero and NetRise — in $4.18B deal

What's the deal? AccentureDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is acquiring a majority stake in Dragos, a leading operational technology (OT) cybersecurity platform, and fully buying asset-intelligence firm runZeroDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and device-security specialist NetRiseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in a combined deal worth $4.18 billion. The moves build on Accenture's existing $10B cybersecurity business and aim to create an end-to-end security platform for critical infrastructure — power grids, pipelines, manufacturing plants and data centres.

runZero and NetRise will operate under Dragos, which is based in Hanover, Maryland and has 580 employees and will continue as an independent business. Dragos co-founder and CEO Robert M. LeeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will lead the combined entity. Together the three companies are estimated to generate roughly $208 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026, up 53% year-over-year.

Why now? AI-driven cyber threats and geopolitical tensions are accelerating faster than most organisations can respond. Industrial environments are increasingly connected through IoT sensors, cloud devices and AI-powered decision-making — creating what the industry calls "extended operational technology", or xOT. Yet most cybersecurity budgets still focus on IT, leaving critical infrastructure exposed.

"Our clients across industries and regions are asking us how to be more proactive and integrated in their approach to cybersecurity," said Julie SweetDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, chair and CEO of Accenture, whose cybersecurity practice is growing by double digits.

What could go wrong? Investors reacted coolly: Accenture shares fell roughly 5% in premarket trading after the announcement, and the company trimmed the top end of its annual revenue-growth forecast to 3%–4%, down from 3%–5% previously — a signal the broader consulting business faces headwinds even as it doubles down on security. Integrating three acquisitions into a unified platform is no small feat: Dragos must absorb runZero's exposure-assessment tools and NetRise's firmware-level supply-chain intelligence while keeping its vendor-neutral reputation with critical infrastructure operators.

The signal: Cybersecurity spending is moving beyond traditional IT networks toward the physical systems that run the world's infrastructure. As AI compresses the time between an IT breach and an OT attack, the gap between digital defence and industrial protection is becoming untenable. Accenture is betting that bundling threat detection, asset visibility and software supply-chain security into one platform is the way to close it.

Read more: Accenture Newsroom · runZero · Dragos · The Wall Street Journal · The Economic Times