Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora said artificial intelligence is forcing companies to modernize roughly $1 trillion of cybersecurity infrastructure designed for a pre-AI environment. He said defenses built seven or 10 years ago cannot handle attacks moving at machine speed, making cybersecurity modernization essential for successful AI deployment. Palo Alto’s fiscal fourth-quarter results beat estimates, and the company issued a strong outlook for its new fiscal year. Arora said AI has expanded both the size and duration of the cybersecurity opportunity, although spending will not arrive all at once. Palo Alto shares have surged 113% since April 7, after earlier investor concerns that AI could undermine traditional security software gave way to expectations that attackers would weaponize the technology and increase demand for defenses. The company has spoken with roughly 2,000 companies about its Frontier AI Critical Defense Program, formally introduced in August, which uses advanced AI models to test defenses, identify vulnerabilities and support infrastructure modernization. Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio run by the CNBC Investing Club, owns Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike.