Palo Alto Networks Acquires AI Infrastructure Startup Portkey for Enterprise AI Security
Cybersecurity giant to integrate Portkey's AI gateway technology into Prisma AIRS platform to secure autonomous AI agents
Quick Look
- Palo Alto Networks announces acquisition of AI infrastructure startup Portkey to provide centralized security for autonomous AI systems.
- Portkey, founded in 2023 by BITS Pilani alumnus Rohit Agarwal and SRM Chennai alumnus Ayush Garg, builds AI gateway technology that manages and secures AI agent interactions.
- The startup raised $15M in February and processes trillions of tokens monthly.
AI-generated summary
US-based cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks has agreed to acquire AI infrastructure startup Portkey, as it looks to expand its capabilities in securing enterprise use of autonomous AI systems. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal. The acquisition is expected to close in Palo Alto Networks' fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to approvals.
Portkey, founded by BITS Pilani alumnus Rohit Agarwal and SRM Chennai alumnus Ayush Garg in 2023, is backed by Elevation Capital and Lightspeed. The startup raised $15 million led by Elevation Capital in February this year.
Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said in a LinkedIn post, "AI agents have become privileged insiders, reasoning and executing on behalf of users and companies. With that power comes a new category of risk. You cannot build an agentic enterprise without a centralised control plane to secure it."
"Portkey is a pioneer of AI gateways technology. Their platform is battle-tested at scale, processing trillions of tokens per month," Arora added.
Portkey builds what it calls an "AI gateway", a layer that sits between applications and large language models, helping companies manage, monitor and secure how AI systems interact with internal and external data. The platform said it is already handling large volumes of AI traffic, including agent-to-agent communication, according to the announcement.
The deal comes at a time when enterprises are moving beyond AI copilots to more autonomous systems that can execute tasks with limited human intervention. These systems often have access to company data and workflows, creating new security risks.
Palo Alto Networks plans to integrate Portkey into its Prisma AIRS platform, positioning it as a central control layer for managing AI agents. The idea is to give enterprises visibility into how AI systems operate while enforcing access controls and security policies in real time, it said in a statement.
Rohit Agarwal, CEO and cofounder of Portkey said, "Scaling AI in production requires a delicate balance between total flexibility for developers and absolute control for security teams. By joining Palo Alto Networks, we will establish the AI Gateway as the foundational layer of the secure AI enterprise. Together, we will provide the infrastructure that allows every organisation to deploy autonomous agents with the confidence that their data and operations are fully protected."
