Okta to buy AI security startup Permiso for about $200M

Okta on Thursday agreed to acquire AI identity security startup Permiso Security in an almost all-cash deal valued at just under $200 million, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. Okta did not disclose terms, and a spokesperson did not dispute the figure but declined to comment on specifics. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of Okta's fiscal 2027, subject to customary conditions.

The startup, which emerged from stealth in 2022, develops software that helps security teams spot suspicious activity in cloud environments after users or applications gain access. It has since expanded to monitor AI agents and other machine identities.

Co-founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin, the Palo Alto-based startup specialises in detecting attacks that use stolen or compromised identities to move through cloud infrastructure. In April, it launched SandyClaw, a platform that analyses AI agent skills in a sandboxed environment to flag malicious behaviour before deployment.

Identity management companies are moving beyond verifying users at login to continuously monitoring what users, applications, and AI agents do once inside a network. That shift has intensified competition to secure machine identities as enterprises embed AI deeper into operations.

The deal strengthens Okta's push into securing AI agents and other non-human identities alongside its core 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," chief product officer Ely Kahn said in a statement.

Permiso has raised about $29 million to date, including an $18.5 million Series A in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital that valued it at about $80 million post-money. A roughly $200 million exit marks a sharp step up — and a bet that protecting autonomous software will become core to identity security.