Okta buys Permiso for about $200M to secure AI identities

Okta has agreed to acquire AI identity security startup Permiso Security, the identity management company announced on July 30, 2026. The deal is valued at just under $200 million in an almost all-cash transaction, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Okta did not dispute the figure when asked for comment, but declined to discuss specific terms.

The acquisition affects Okta's product portfolio by adding Permiso's technology for detecting suspicious activity in cloud environments and monitoring AI agents and other machine identities. Permiso, which emerged from stealth in 2022, was co-founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin. The startup has raised about $29 million to date, including an $18.5 million Series A round in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital, which valued the Palo Alto-based company at approximately $80 million on a post-money basis.

The deal matters because it strengthens Okta's push into securing non-human identities as enterprises deploy autonomous software. Okta's chief product officer Ely Kahn said in a statement that Permiso will extend Okta's identity security fabric with proven identity threat detection and response capabilities and an incredible threat research and security team. The move comes amid intensifying competition to secure machine identities as AI becomes embedded in everyday operations.

Permiso's platform helps security teams spot suspicious activity after users or applications gain access, and it recently introduced SandyClaw, a platform to analyze AI agent skills in a sandboxed environment to identify malicious behavior before deployment. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Okta's fiscal 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.

Okta's acquisition of Permiso follows a broader industry shift from verifying users at login to continuously monitoring what users, applications, and AI agents do once inside a network. Permiso specializes in detecting attacks that use stolen or compromised identities to move through cloud infrastructure.

The deal positions Okta to offer more comprehensive identity security as demand for protecting AI agents grows. No further financial details were disclosed.