Okta Acquires AI Security Startup Permiso in Deal Worth About $200 Million

Okta has agreed to acquire AI identity security startup Permiso Security as the identity management company expands its efforts to protect AI agents and other machine identities used across enterprise environments.

Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the transaction. However, a source familiar with the deal said the acquisition is valued at just under $200 million and is structured as an almost entirely cash transaction. An Okta spokesperson did not dispute that valuation.

Okta said the acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of its fiscal 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.

The acquisition reflects a broader shift in identity security, where companies are moving beyond simply verifying users during login toward continuously monitoring what users, applications and AI agents do after gaining access to corporate systems.

As enterprises deploy more autonomous software, protecting machine identities has become an increasingly competitive area within cybersecurity.

Permiso expanded from cloud security to AI agents.

Permiso emerged from stealth in 2022 with software designed to helpsecurity.ty teams identify suspicious activity inside cloud environments after users or applications have already been granted access.

The company has since expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other non-human identities.

Permiso was founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin.

The startup specialises in detecting attacks that rely on stolen or compromised identities through cloud infrastructure.

Earlier this year, Permiso introduced SandyClaw, a platform that analyses AI agent skills inside a sandboxed environment to detect potential malicious behaviour before those agents are deployed into production systems.

Acquisition strengthens OOkta’sAI security strategy.

Okta said the acquisition will strengthen Okta’s identity security platform by adding identity threat detection and response capabilities focused on both human and machine identities.

“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 Chief Product Officer Ely Kahn said in a prepared statement.

The acquisition also expands Okta’s presence in one of cybersecurity’s fastest-growing segments as organisations increasingly rely on cybersecurity tools to perform business tasks across cloud environments.

Permiso raised $29 million before the acquisition

Permiso has raised approximately $29 million since its founding.

Its largest financing was an $18.5 million Series A round announced in April 2024 and led by Altimeter Capital.

People familiar with that financing previously said the funding valued the Palo Alto-based startup at approximately $80 million on a post-money basis.

The acquisition gives Okta additional technology for monitoring AI agents, machine identities and cloud-based activity as enterprises look for stronger protections beyond traditional identity verification.