Palo Alto Networks Acquires Israel’s Talon Cyber for $625M

Palo Alto Networks has acquired Israel-based cybersecurity startup Talon Cyber Security for $625 million, the company confirmed Monday.

The deal is Palo Alto’s second major cybersecurity acquisition in Israel in the past week. On Tuesday, the Santa Clara, California-based company announced it is acquiring cloud data security firm Dig Security for around $400 million.

Talon, co-founded in 2019 by Ofer Ben-Noon and Ohad Bobrov, had raised about $143 million from investors, including Team8, Entrée Capital, Evolution Equity, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Cyverse Capital. According to sources, Talon was approached by Palo Alto and was not seeking to be acquired.

The acquisitions come as Israel’s tech industry has been heavily impacted by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza militants that began last month. With tech accounting for 18% of Israel’s GDP, many tech workers have been called up for military reserve duty or are volunteering, pausing much of the country’s tech work.

The Palo Alto investors say cybersecurity remains a growth area despite Israel’s conflict.

“The need for cybersecurity hasn’t decreased given what is happening — actually, it’s the other way around. With the advancement of new systems and geopolitical changes, there are even more needs for cybersecurity,” said Lior Simon, general partner at Cyberstarts, an Israel-based cyber investor.

Talon has developed an “enterprise browser” platform to secure remote workforces by controlling access to apps and websites. The platform provides visibility into all work-related online activity on employees’ personal and company devices.

“The average enterprise uses hundreds of SaaS and web applications, meaning that most work is now done primarily via the browser,” said Lee Klarich, chief product officer at Palo Alto Networks. “Talon enables organizations to secure all work activity via an Enterprise Browser, without touching the personal usage of the device or impacting user privacy.”

The Talon platform will integrate with Palo Alto’s Prisma SASE cloud security service.

The Talon platform will integrate with Palo Alto’s Prisma SASE cloud security service. SASE (secure access service edge) provides cloud-based network security for remote users.

Anand Oswal, senior vice president and general manager of Palo Alto’s Firewall as a Platform business, said the combination of Prisma SASE and Talon “will transform how organizations navigate the challenges of today’s modern and connected digital environments.”

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