Nikesh Arora: Why Palo Alto Is Making a $25B Bet on Identity

CyberArk Deal Adds Privileged Access Capabilities to Palo Alto Networks' Core Stack Michael Novinson (MichaelNovinson) • July 30, 2025

The rise of agentic AI and credential-based ransomware attacks has fueled Palo Alto Networks' interest in acquiring CyberArk for $25 billion, said CEO Nikesh Arora.

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Arora said the long-fragmented identity security market is now ripe for platform consolidation with the emergence of AI agents requiring real-time permissioning and governance. Bringing privileged access to all identities rather than just a few high-risk users will help Palo Alto Networks lead in a world in which machine identities and agentic AI dominate the threat landscape, Arora said.

"From our vantage point, CyberArk is the only and largest player in the identity security space, and hence it allows us the opportunity to enter the identity security space," Arora ...