Okta acquires AI security startup Permiso for about $200M

Okta announced its agreement to acquire Permiso Security, a startup focused on AI identity security, for approximately $200 million in an all-cash deal, according to a source familiar with the transaction. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Okta's fiscal 2027. Permiso, founded by former FireEye executives, develops software to detect suspicious activity in cloud environments and has recently expanded to monitor AI agents and machine identities. The startup introduced SandyClaw, a platform that analyzes AI agent skills in a sandboxed environment to identify malicious behavior before deployment. Permiso had raised about $29 million to date, with a Series A round in April 2024 valuing it at $80 million post-money.