Report: Cisco to acquire AI agent security startup Astrix Security for $250M+

Cisco Systems Inc. is reportedly in talks to buy Astrix Security Ltd., a startup that helps companies protect their intelligence agents.

Information today cited sources as saying the deal could be worth between $250 million and $350 million. That’s about three times the amount of money Astrix has raised so far. The company’s investors include Workday Inc. and Anthology Fund, an investment vehicle supported by Anthropic PBC.

Tel Aviv-based Astrix sells a platform that can automatically deploy all AI agents on a company’s network. It also identifies the tools they use to automate the work. The software detects MCP servers and non-human identities, user accounts that use agents to log into external applications.

Astrix scans assets for vulnerabilities. Detects configuration-related issues, such as cases where the internal agent cannot be accessed via the public web. The platform can also detect when the agent itself poses a risk. For example, Astrix might flag a coding assistant that only needs read access to a GitHub repository but also has the ability to delete files.

The platform displays the problems it finds in a central dashboard. It also provides controls that allow administrators to mitigate identified risks.

Astrix includes a JIT, or just-in-time access feature, which makes it possible to limit the duration of the agent’s interactions with critical applications. For example, a JIT policy might specify that the credentials an agent logs into the database with expire after 10 minutes. Outdated data is not a threat even if it falls into the hands of hackers.

Astrix detects unusual agent activity such as attempts to download a large number of sensitive records at once. According to the company, its platform revokes access permissions for malicious agents without manual input. Additionally, it can synchronize findings with third-party cybersecurity tools that automate breach investigation and response activities.

Another workflow that Astrix offers is to organize agent provisioning. Before developers deploy a new agent, they must check with administrators to ensure that it meets cybersecurity regulations. Astrix bypasses that step by enabling administrators to prepare cybersecurity rules in advance. That allows developers to provide self-service agents without creating vulnerabilities.

The report that Cisco may buy Astrix comes just a day after the company announced another AI security acquisition. The company has agreed to buy Galileo Technologies Inc., a venture-backed startup that sells a so-called hallucination firewall. The platform protects AI models from malicious notifications and ensures that their responses do not contain sensitive business data.

Photo: Cisco