CrowdStrike To Boost Identity Security For AI Agents With SGNL Acquisition

The cybersecurity giant says the $740 million deal will bring capabilities for ‘continuous’ identity security to its Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security offering.

CrowdStrike announced Thursday that it has reached a deal to acquire SGNL, a startup that provides identity protection capabilities that will be crucial for helping to secure AI agents.

The $740 million deal will be “predominantly” paid in cash, according to a news release. The deal is expected to be completed during the first quarter of the vendor’s fiscal year, which closes April 30.

[Related: 'Flexing' Its Muscle: CrowdStrike CEO Kurtz Says It's The First 'Hyperscaler Of Security’]

Founded in 2021, SGNL provides a runtime access enforcement functionality that connects identity providers with SaaS and hyperscale infrastructure, CrowdStrike said. The startup’s capabilities provide “continuous” identity security for human users as well as non-human identities and AI identities, according to the company.

Key capabilities from SGNL include allowing access to be “continuously granted and revoked based on real-time risk,” CrowdStrike said in its release.

The SGNL technology will be integrated into the Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security offering once the acquisition closes, CrowdStrike said.

The acquisition is the latest from CrowdStrike targeting an expansion of security capabilities related to AI.

In August, CrowdStrike announced it had reached a $290 million deal to acquire a startup that provides data pipeline management, Onum. The technology is critical for CrowdStrike to enable the “clean” data that AI applications need to work most effectively, solution providers have told CRN.

Then in September, CrowdStrike announced an agreement to acquire Pangea, a startup that offers guardrails for GenAI-powered applications. The $260 million deal has formed the basis for CrowdStrike’s AI detection and response offering that debuted in December.