Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console

Palo Alto Networks is expanding its M&A map again. TechCrunch reported on September 2, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, that the cybersecurity giant has paid roughly $500 million to acquire Console, an AI IT service automation startup.

Console is backed by venture firm Thrive and focuses on applying AI to IT service automation, using agents and automated workflows to replace the repetitive, time-consuming manual work inside enterprise IT operations.

The report does not include further terms of the deal or say what will happen to Console's team and products after the acquisition; neither Palo Alto Networks nor Console has officially commented so far.

The more direct impact lands on the competition. Citing industry watchers, the report argues that with Console absorbed by a large vendor, Sequoia-backed Serval will become the de facto leading startup in AI IT service automation.

For Palo Alto Networks, the move extends its AI push into IT operations and service delivery, consistent with the broader industry shift among security vendors from pure defense toward automated operations.

At the market level, a roughly $500 million acquisition puts a concrete price tag on AI-native IT service automation, showing that large security vendors want to absorb agent capabilities into their platforms before disruptors grow stronger.

What to watch next: whether the two sides confirm the deal, how Console's technology is folded into Palo Alto Networks' product portfolio, and how Serval uses the window to accelerate now that its biggest rival is off the market.