Palo Alto Networks agreed to acquire Console for $500 million in cash and stock, according to two people familiar with the deal, although the companies did not disclose financial terms in their official Tuesday announcement. Founded in 2024, Console raised $29 million through a $6.2 million seed round led by Thrive Capital and a $23 million Series A co-led by DST Global and Thrive. PitchBook valued the startup at $157 million before the sale, creating a rapid return for investors including SV Angel, Abstract Ventures and Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, who invested as an angel. Palo Alto Networks declined to comment. The cybersecurity company plans to integrate Console into Cortex, its platform for automatically detecting and neutralizing threats. Console’s AI-agent technology will let security teams investigate and resolve alerts using natural language, extending Cortex’s automation across enterprise security operations. Console was founded by Andrei Serban after his previous startup, code-security platform Fuzzbuzz, was acquired by Rippling. Its customers included Ramp, Flock Safety and Scale AI, while its software handled password resets, application access for services such as Figma and Miro, and routine troubleshooting without direct human involvement. Console competed mainly with Serval, another challenger to ServiceNow that reached a $1 billion valuation after a $75 million Series B led by Sequoia last December. Serval began as an AI technical-support product and expanded into assistance for human resources, legal and finance teams. One investor who does not back Serval said Console’s acquisition leaves Serval as the category leader to watch among startups automating IT service management. PitchBook said the transaction is Palo Alto Networks’ seventh acquisition in 2026. Other acquisitions this year include Chronosphere, an observability platform backed by Greylock and Lux Capital, at a $3.35 billion valuation, and cyber startup Koi, backed by Battery and Team8, for $400 million.