AI
Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console for $500M
The cybersecurity firm buys a two-year-old company that automates IT support tasks to strengthen its autonomous threat response platform.
TechCrunch — AI
Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, an AI-powered startup that automates routine IT service desk operations, in a $500 million cash-and-stock transaction. The deal, formally announced Tuesday, marks the security firm's push to embed autonomous agents into its threat detection arsenal.
The startup's trajectory#
Console, founded in 2024 by former Fuzzbuzz creator Andrei Serban, rapidly attracted investor backing since launching. The company raised $6.2 million in a seed round led by Thrive Capital, followed by $23 million in Series A financing co-led by DST Global and Thrive. Before the acquisition, Console's pre-money valuation stood at $157 million according to PitchBook—delivering an outsized return for backers that included SV Angel, Abstract Ventures, and notably Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora, who participated as an early angel investor.
What Console does#
Console's platform leveraged AI agents to handle help desk work that typically requires human intervention: password resets, provisioning access to tools like Figma and Miro, and initial troubleshooting. The startup counted Ramp, Flock Safety, and Scale AI among its customer roster. Its core appeal lay in freeing up IT teams from repetitive, low-value tasks that drain operational capacity.
Integration into Palo Alto's platform#
Palo Alto plans to embed Console's autonomous capabilities into Cortex, its AI-driven security platform designed to detect and neutralize threats. By pairing Console's agentic functionality with Cortex, security teams will be able to investigate and resolve security alerts via natural language commands—effectively giving the platform what Arora called "the arms and legs to deliver autonomous security outcomes across the entire enterprise."
Market context#
Console's acquisition leaves Serval—a ServiceNow challenger that raised $75 million at a $1 billion valuation in December—as the most prominent independent player in AI-powered IT service automation. Console itself is Palo Alto's seventh acquisition in 2026, following high-profile deals including Chronosphere (an observability platform valued at $3.35 billion, backed by Greylock and Lux Capital) and Koi (a cyber startup purchased for $400 million).
