Cisco Buys AI Security Start-Up Astrix For $US400 Million To Close Authentication Gap.
Cisco Buys AI Security Start-Up Astrix For $US400 Million – Cisco has moved to close a gap in AI-era security, announcing plans to acquire Israeli startup Astrix Security for $400 million.
The acquisition targets one of the fastest-expanding attack surfaces in enterprise environments — non-human identities (NHIs), including API keys, service accounts, OAuth tokens and machine-to-machine credentials that underpin AI systems and automation.
Founded in 2021, Astrix has built a platform focused on discovering, governing and securing these identities across their lifecycle. The company maps how machine identities behave, applies policy controls and detects misuse or anomalies in real time. It has raised around $85 million and generated approximately $25 million in revenue by 2025.
Cisco plans to integrate Astrix across its security stack, including Identity Intelligence, Secure Access, Duo and Splunk, extending its Zero Trust model into environments where AI agents increasingly operate as autonomous “digital workers”.
“Securing AI agents and non-human identities has never been more important,” said Peter Bailey, SVP and GM of Cisco’s Security Business Group. “We’re excited to help customers close this gap and to welcome the Astrix team to Cisco.”
The move reflects a broader shift in enterprise security, where machine identities now outnumber human users in many environments. As organisations deploy AI agents across applications and infrastructure, controlling how those identities are created, used and secured is becoming critical.
Astrix’s technology is designed specifically for that problem, offering visibility across cloud, SaaS and CI/CD environments, along with lifecycle management, policy enforcement and threat detection focused on credential misuse and token abuse.
The deal positions Cisco more directly in the emerging market for AI and machine identity security, where competitors including Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike and Okta are also increasing focus, but where dedicated platforms remain relatively limited.
You can learn more about Astrix here or read more SEN news here.
“Cisco Buys AI Security Start-Up Astrix For $US400 Million To Close Authentication Gap.”
