Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say

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 officially announced the acquisition on Tuesday but didn’t reveal terms of the deal. Since its founding in 2024, Console has 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, Console was valued at $157 million, according to PitchBook, delivering a rapid return for investors including SV Angel, Abstract Ventures, and notably Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, who participated as an angel investor. Palo Alto Networks declined to comment.

The cybersecurity giant said that it will integrate Console into Cortex, its platform that uses AI to automatically detect and neutralize threats. Console’s agentic functionality will allow security teams to investigate and resolve alerts using natural language, giving Cortex “the arms and legs to deliver autonomous security outcomes across the entire enterprise,” as Arora described in a statement.

Console was founded by Andrei Serban, coming shortly after his previous startup — a code-security platform Fuzzbuzz— was acquired by Rippling. The startup, whose customers included Ramp, Flock Safety, and Scale AI, automated tasks like password resets, granted access to apps like Figma and Miro, and performed routine troubleshooting without direct human involvement.