Cybersecurity software provider Palo Alto Networks agreed yesterday to acquire US-based cybersecurity orchestration software producer Demisto in a $560m stock-and-cash deal that will allow corporate investors Wipro and Slack to exit.
Demisto has created a software platform that orchestrates the cybersecurity process, automating basic functions while feeding into input from human analysts. It also uses machine learning to gain knowledge from previous interactions and cases.
The company has more than 150 customers it will continue to serve once the acquisition is closed, at a time expected to be in Q3 2019. Demisto had received $69m in equity funding since being founded in 2015.
Venture capital firm Accel led a $6m series A round for Demisto in 2016 that included cybersecurity fund Secure Octane and angel investors Stuart McClure, Kevin Mahaffey and Mike Fey, adding $20m in series B funding in early 2017.
Wipro Ventures and Slack Fund, subsidiaries of IT services provider Wipro and enterprise communication software producer Slack, took part in the series B round, as did Accel and ClearSky.
Greylock led a $43m series C in October 2018 featuring existing backers including ClearSky and Accel that reportedly valued it at $218m, and VC firm Cerca Partners is reportedly also an investor.
Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto Networks’ chairman and chief executive, said: “Coupled with our Application Framework, Demisto will help us strengthen our commitment to security teams by delivering a platform that provides higher levels of integration, automation, and innovation to prevent successful cyberattacks.”
