Okta to acquire AI identity security startup Permiso for about $200M

Okta agreed on Thursday to acquire Permiso Security, an AI identity security startup, in a deal whose terms were not disclosed. TechCrunch learned from a source with knowledge of the deal that the acquisition is valued at just under $200 million and structured as an almost all-cash transaction; an Okta spokesperson did not dispute the figure when CEO Todd McKinnon was asked for comment.

Okta said the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of its fiscal 2027, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition comes as identity management companies push beyond verifying users at login toward continuously monitoring what users, applications, and AI agents do after gaining authorized access — intensifying competition to secure machine identities as enterprises embed AI deeper into everyday operations.

Permiso emerged from stealth in 2022 with software that helps security teams spot suspicious activity in cloud environments after users or applications have been granted access. More recently, the startup expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identities, specializing in detecting attacks that use stolen or compromised identities to move through cloud infrastructure.

The company was co-founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin. In April, Permiso introduced SandyClaw, a platform that analyzes AI agent skills in a sandboxed environment to identify malicious behavior before agents are deployed — squarely targeting the security risks enterprises worry about as they roll out autonomous agents.

“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's chief product officer Ely Kahn said in a prepared statement.

Permiso has raised about $29 million to date, including an $18.5 million Series A in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital. People familiar with the financing said that round valued the Palo Alto-based startup at roughly $80 million post-money — meaning the reported acquisition price is about 2.5x that valuation.

For Okta, the deal is a key step toward securing AI agents and other non-human identities. As enterprises deploy autonomous software across their operations, protecting “machine identities” is moving from a niche security concern to the core of identity management. Watch next: whether SandyClaw reaches enterprise customers quickly through Okta's channels, and whether similar acquisitions follow in the identity security space.