--- title: Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console... description: Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, a two-year-old AI IT help desk automation startup, for roughly $500 million in cash and stock. Console had raised $29... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-acquires-ai-help-desk-startup-console-for-500m-xx0ok8cpd twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console for ~$500M | daily.dev og:description: Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, a two-year-old AI IT help desk automation startup, for roughly $500 million in cash and stock. Console had raised $29... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-acquires-ai-help-desk-startup-console-for-500m-xx0ok8cpd og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/xX0oK8CPd.png og:image:alt: Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console for ~$500M og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console for ~$500M **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 1 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, a two-year-old AI IT help desk automation startup, for roughly $500 million in cash and stock. Console had raised $29 million and was last valued at $157 million. The company will be integrated into Cortex, Palo Alto's AI-driven threat detection platform, to add agentic capabilities for resolving security alerts via natural language. Thrive Capital backed Console, and Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora was an angel investor. This marks Palo Alto Networks' seventh acquisition in 2026, following Chronosphere and Koi. Sequoia-backed Serval, now valued at $1 billion, remains the most prominent independent player left in AI-driven IT service automation. ## Content Palo Alto Networks paid roughly $500 million in cash and stock to acquire Console, a two-year-old startup that automates IT help desk tasks, according to sources close to the deal. Console had raised $29 million and was last valued at $157 million, so the exit is a quick and substantial return for investors. Thrive Capital backed the company, and Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora was an angel investor - which makes the acquisition a bit less surprising in hindsight. The startup will be folded into Cortex, Palo Alto's AI-driven threat detection platform. The idea is to add agentic capabilities that can resolve security alerts through natural language, essentially letting the system handle routine IT triage without a human in the loop. With Console off the board, Sequoia-backed Serval - now valued at $1 billion - is the most prominent independent startup left in AI-driven IT service automation. This is Palo Alto Networks' seventh acquisition in 2026, following Chronosphere and Koi earlier in the year. ## Questions this post answers ### How much did Palo Alto Networks pay to acquire Console? Palo Alto Networks paid approximately $500 million in cash and stock for Console, a two-year-old startup that automates IT help desk tasks. Console had previously raised $29 million and was last valued at $157 million, making this a quick and substantial return for its investors, including Thrive Capital and angel investor Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto's CEO. _Track major security industry acquisitions like this one as they reshape the vendor landscape on daily.dev._ ### What will Palo Alto Networks do with the Console acquisition? Console will be folded into Cortex, Palo Alto Networks' AI-driven threat detection platform, to add agentic capabilities that resolve security alerts through natural language. The goal is to let the system handle routine IT triage automatically, without a human in the loop, extending Cortex beyond detection into automated remediation. _Follow how vendors like Palo Alto Networks fold agentic AI into security platforms on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Palo Alto Networks bets $700M-class AI bet on Portkey gateway](https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-bets-700m-class-ai-bet-on-portkey-gateway-lsrrosbcj) · The New Stack · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Palo Alto Networks Moves to Secure Agentic Endpoints with Koi Deal](https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-moves-to-secure-agentic-endpoints-with-koi-deal-3hx9gllgc) · Security Boulevard · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Palo Alto's new Google Cloud deal boosts AI integration](https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-s-new-google-cloud-deal-boosts-ai-integration-fbwrcoptu) · The Register · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Palo Alto Networks to Acquire AI-Era Observability Platform Chronosphere for $3.35 Billion](https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-to-acquire-ai-era-observability-platform-chronosphere-for-3-35-billion-z5yqftxyt) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#startup](https://daily.dev/tags/startup), [#business](https://daily.dev/tags/business), [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-acquires-ai-help-desk-startup-console-for-500m-xx0ok8cpd) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Palo Alto Networks acquires AI help desk startup Console for ~$500M","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-acquires-ai-help-desk-startup-console-for-500m-xx0ok8cpd","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/palo-alto-networks-acquires-ai-help-desk-startup-console-for-500m-xx0ok8cpd"},"datePublished":"2026-09-03T00:24:05.223Z","dateModified":"2026-09-03T00:24:38.412Z","description":"Palo Alto Networks has acquired Console, a two-year-old AI IT help desk automation startup, for roughly $500 million in cash and stock. 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Console had previously raised $29 million and was last valued at $157 million, making this a quick and substantial return for its investors, including Thrive Capital and angel investor Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto's CEO. Track major security industry acquisitions like this one as they reshape the vendor landscape on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What will Palo Alto Networks do with the Console acquisition?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Console will be folded into Cortex, Palo Alto Networks' AI-driven threat detection platform, to add agentic capabilities that resolve security alerts through natural language. The goal is to let the system handle routine IT triage automatically, without a human in the loop, extending Cortex beyond detection into automated remediation. Follow how vendors like Palo Alto Networks fold agentic AI into security platforms on daily.dev."}}]} ```