Palo Alto Networks Acquires AI IT Startup Console for $500 Million
Palo Alto Networks will acquire Console for $500M in cash and stock; the startup carried a $157M valuation and the deal was announced Sept. 2, 2026. Console’s agent automations will be integrated into Cortex so security teams can investigate alerts using natural language.
Palo Alto Networks paid $500 million in cash and stock to acquire Console, a two-year-old startup that uses AI agents to automate routine IT help desk tasks, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. The companies announced the acquisition on Tuesday, September 2, 2026, without disclosing financial terms.
Founded in 2024 by Andrei Serban, Console had raised $29 million across two rounds — a $6.2 million seed led by Thrive Capital and a $23 million Series A co-led by DST Global and Thrive. Before the sale, the startup carried a $157 million valuation, according to PitchBook. Investors including SV Angel, Abstract Ventures, and Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, who participated as an angel investor, saw a rapid return on the deal. Palo Alto Networks declined to comment on the acquisition price.
Console’s customers included Ramp, Flock Safety, and Scale AI. The platform automated tasks such as password resets, app access provisioning for tools like Figma and Miro, and routine troubleshooting — all without direct human involvement. Serban previously founded Fuzzbuzz, a code-security platform that was acquired by Rippling.
Palo Alto Networks said it will integrate Console into Cortex, its AI-powered threat detection and response platform. The addition of Console’s agentic capabilities will allow security teams to investigate and resolve alerts using natural language. Arora described the integration as giving Cortex “the arms and legs to deliver autonomous security outcomes across the entire enterprise.”
The deal is Palo Alto Networks’ seventh acquisition in 2026, per PitchBook, following purchases including observability platform Chronosphere at a $3.35 billion valuation and cyber startup Koi for $400 million. With Console absorbed by a larger player, Serval — a rival startup valued at $1 billion after a $75 million Series B led by Sequoia — is left as the leading independent startup in AI IT service automation, according to one investor who is not a backer of Serval.