Okta agreed on July 30, 2026 to acquire Permiso Security, an AI identity security startup, in a deal valued at just under $200 million, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. The acquisition is structured as an almost all-cash deal, and Okta did not dispute the figure when asked. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of Okta’s fiscal 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.
Permiso, based in Palo Alto, was co-founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin. The company emerged from stealth in 2022 and develops software that helps security teams detect suspicious activity in cloud environments after users or applications have been granted access. The startup has since expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identities. In April, Permiso introduced SandyClaw, a platform designed to analyze AI agent behavior in a sandboxed environment to identify potential threats before deployment.
Permiso has raised approximately $29 million in total funding, including an $18.5 million Series A round in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital, which valued the company at around $80 million post-money.
The acquisition reflects a broader shift in identity management — from verifying users at login to continuously monitoring what users, applications, and AI agents do once inside a network. As enterprises deploy more autonomous software, securing machine identities has become an area of growing focus.
“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,” said Okta chief product officer Ely Kahn.
The deal may strengthen Okta’s position in the emerging market for securing non-human identities, complementing its existing identity management business as AI agents become more embedded in enterprise operations.
Source: TechCrunch