Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks stands as the global leader in cybersecurity, protecting over 70,000 organizations across 150+ countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100, through its comprehensive AI-powered security platforms. Founded in 2005 by Israeli engineer Nir Zuk, a former principal developer at Check Point and NetScreen Technologies who created the first stateful inspection firewall and intrusion prevention system, the company was born from Zuk's determination to disrupt the enterprise security industry with next-generation firewall technology. The founding team of 25 former NetScreen colleagues initially struggled to attract investors, with Kleiner Perkins reportedly dismissing the venture, but persevered to raise $9.4 million in startup funding and an additional $10 million in Series A funding from Greylock and Sequoia Capital in January 2006.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks shipped its first next-generation firewall in 2007—a groundbreaking product that would redefine network security. The company completed its initial public offering on July 20, 2012, raising $260 million and establishing itself as a publicly traded cybersecurity powerhouse. In June 2018, former Google and SoftBank executive Nikesh Arora joined as Chairman and CEO, leading a dramatic transformation from a hardware-focused firewall vendor to a comprehensive platform security provider. Under Arora's leadership, the company achieved fiscal 2024 revenue of $8.57 billion (16% year-over-year growth) and fiscal 2025 revenue of $9.22 billion, with next-generation security ARR growing 43% to $4.2 billion and remaining performance obligations reaching $12.7 billion.

Palo Alto Networks' product portfolio spans three core platforms: Strata for network security featuring ML-powered next-generation firewalls, Prisma for cloud security and SASE solutions (recognized as a 3x Leader in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant), and Cortex for AI-driven security operations including the disruptive XSIAM platform that integrates SIEM and XDR capabilities. The company's platformization strategy leverages integrated solutions to drive customer stickiness through upsell and cross-sell opportunities, with fiscal 2024 subscription and support revenue reaching $6.4 billion (80% of total revenue). Powered by Precision AI technology, Palo Alto Networks delivers precise threat detection with minimal false positives while maintaining operational efficiency across hybrid cloud environments.

The company's aggressive acquisition strategy has accelerated its market leadership, including the $25 billion CyberArk acquisition (July 2025) for identity security, the $650-700 million Protect AI acquisition (July 2025) for AI application security, the $3.35 billion Chronosphere acquisition (November 2025) for next-generation observability, and the $1.14 billion acquisition of IBM's QRadar SaaS assets (September 2024) to transition customers to Cortex XSIAM. Strategic partnerships with IBM, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, and others have expanded Palo Alto Networks' ecosystem to over 75 technical integrations. The company maintains market dominance with over 20% share in the security appliance market and continues its mission of "being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life" through innovation in AI-powered security, unified data security platforms, and comprehensive protection against evolving cyber threats in the AI era.