Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say

Palo Alto Networks paid $500M in cash and stock for Console, a two-year-old startup using AI agents to automate IT help desk tasks. Console had raised just $29M from Thrive Capital and DST Global, and was last valued at $157M, giving investors a fast return. The cybersecurity giant plans to fold Console's agentic tech into its Cortex platform for automated threat detection and response. The deal leaves Sequoia-backed Serval as the de facto startup leader in AI IT service automation.