Google Cloud has struck a massive new deal with the cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks, a partnership that one source says is by far Google’s largest-ever security services contract. The deal is reportedly worth “approaching $10 billion” and will see the two companies team up to tackle the new security challenges of the artificial intelligence era.
While executives from both companies declined to comment on the exact price tag, they did say the expanded partnership will involve Palo Alto moving its existing services to Google’s cloud platform. A big part of the deal, however, will focus on developing new AI-powered security services.
“AI has spawned a tremendous amount of demand for security,” said Matt Renner, the chief revenue officer for Google Cloud. As both companies and hackers increasingly use AI, the old ways of doing cybersecurity are no longer enough. “This is the same as when the cloud began to emerge, and there were new security threats that no one had ever imagined,” said a Palo-Alto executive.
The deal is a huge win for Google Cloud as it battles to compete with its bigger rivals, Amazon and Microsoft. Both Google and Palo Alto have been investing heavily in AI-powered security, and this new, deeper partnership is a clear sign that they see a massive opportunity in this fast-growing market.
The two companies have been partners since 2018, and Palo Alto’s CEO is a former top Google executive, a connection that likely helped to seal this landmark deal.
