CrowdStrike agrees to buy two AI security start-ups for nearly $500 million

[Anthony_51]

Securing AI agents is becoming big business. TechCrunch reports that CrowdStrike will spend nearly $500 million on two AI security start ups, Fiddler AI and Dreadnode

Fiddler AI, founded in 2018 and focused on observability for AI agents, is being bought for around $400 million and will become Falcon Observe. It had raised about $99 million

Dreadnode, founded in 2023 and specialising in security testing of AI models and agents before deployment, is being bought for about $95 million and will become part of Falcon Guardian. It had raised $14 million

The deal prices come from the Wall Street Journal and are approximate. Gartner expects the market for securing AI to reach almost $5 billion in 2027, and rivals raising money include HiddenLayer, Zenity, Pluto Security and AIR. The article does not say whether the deals have closed

As companies give AI agents access to systems and data, knowing what those agents are doing becomes essential. Buying specialists is a quick way for CrowdStrike to build that capability. The rush of investment suggests AI security will be one of the biggest growth areas in cybersecurity

How should companies secure AI agents? And will big security firms keep buying AI start ups?

CrowdStrike to shell out nearly $500M for 2 AI security startups as the market for securing agents takes off | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com