Okta announced Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Permiso Security, an identity security startup focused on AI, signaling a bet that demand for protecting AI agents and other machine identities will rise as companies deploy autonomous software across their operations. The identity management company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Okta stated that the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of its fiscal 2027, pending standard closing conditions.

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Okta's move to purchase Permiso comes as identity management firms look to expand beyond simply verifying users at login. The new focus involves continuously monitoring what users, applications, and AI agents do once they gain authorized access to a network. This shift has intensified competition around securing machine identities as businesses embed AI more deeply into their daily operations.

Permiso, which came out of stealth mode in 2022, develops software that helps security teams detect suspicious activity in cloud environments after users or applications have been granted access. More recently, the startup has expanded its platform to monitor AI agents and other machine identities. Co-founded by former FireEye executives Paul Nguyen and Jason Martin, Permiso specializes in identifying attacks that use stolen or compromised identities to move through cloud infrastructure.

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In April, the startup also introduced SandyClaw, a platform designed to analyze AI agent skills within a sandboxed environment to identify malicious behavior before deployment. This acquisition strengthens Okta's push into securing AI agents and other non-human identities alongside its core identity management business.

"Permiso will extend Okta's identity security fabric with proven identity threat detection and response capabilities, and an incredible threat research and security team that will advance Okta's threat detection and prevention capabilities," Okta's chief product officer Ely Kahn said in a prepared statement.

Permiso has raised approximately $29 million to date, including an $18.5 million Series A round in April 2024 led by Altimeter Capital. Sources familiar with the financing indicated that the Series A valued the Palo Alto-based startup at around $80 million on a post-money basis.