Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy AI agent security startup Clutch for $500M

TechCrunch · Marina Temkin · 2026-11-06 06:28 UTC

Clutch, backed by Lightspeed and SignalFire, was last valued at $85 million, according to a source.

Palo Alto Networks is in talks to acquire Clutch Security, a startup that secures AI agents’ access to company systems, for $500 million in cash plus additional milestone-based payouts, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Three-year-old Clutch was last valued at $85 million when it raised a $20 million Series A round in January 2025, led by Lightspeed and SignalFire, according to our source. The startup is currently approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). That means the acquisition, if completed, would value Clutch at about 50 times its ARR, a standard way of pricing software companies.

Palo Alto Networks and Clutch Security did not respond to a request for comment. The Information was the first to report the acquisition discussions.

Read the full story at TechCrunch · All coverage of this story