Palo Alto Networks to acquire Embrace to add Real User Monitoring to its Observability platform
What's the deal? Palo Alto Networks on July 21, 2026 said it will acquire Embrace, a provider of user-focused observability, to add Real User Monitoring (RUM) to its Observability platform. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions.
Why now? The acquisition follows Palo Alto Networks' January 2026 purchase of Chronosphere and extends a rapid build-out of its observability line. It also comes alongside a new in-house product launch.
What's the endgame? Palo Alto Networks wants to extend its platform into Digital Experience Monitoring, giving customers one view spanning end-user interactions, application performance, and backend infrastructure. Embrace's RUM tracks what users actually experience; a separate offering, called Synthetics, will proactively validate app performance from locations worldwide.
The product angle: Synthetics is a new capability built in-house by the company's Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) team, using Palo Alto Networks' globally distributed infrastructure. The company says linking these tools with its Cortex AgentiX will let organisations both spot and automatically fix issues.
By the numbers: The Observability platform surpassed $300M in annual recurring revenue in Q3 FY26. Palo Alto Networks was named a leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms for the third straight year, and topped the Observability Cost Control category in the Gartner Critical Capabilities report.
What they said: "To truly understand how their applications are performing, organizations need to see the whole picture," said Lee Klarich, chief product and technology officer. He called the combined offering "what true platformization looks like in practice."
The signal: The cybersecurity leader is stitching acquisitions and in-house builds into a single observability stack, betting that unified, cost-controlled monitoring — plus automated fixes — is how it competes as applications grow more complex and AI-driven.
Read more: PR Newswire
