Protect AI
AI security · https://protectai.com
Verdict: Buy · Confidence: high · Reviewed 2026-10-15
Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of Protect AI on July 22, 2025, and folded the product into Prisma AIRS. Palo Alto Networks is not a separate page in this directory. Durability follows that public parent, not a standalone startup grade. Protect AI's own revenue was not disclosed.
Rubric
| Dimension | Score (1–5) | Notes & sources |
|---|---|---|
| Real customers & revenue quality Are there named paying customers, recurring revenue, and retention evidence? | 4/5 | Protect AI's standalone revenue was not disclosed. Palo Alto Networks said on July 22, 2025 that the acquisition had closed and that Protect AI would sit inside Prisma AIRS. The parent's fiscal 2026 earnings release reported total revenue of $11.480 billion and next-generation security ARR of $9.10 billion. Those figures are Palo Alto Networks, not Protect AI. The close announcement named Leidos as an early Protect AI adopter and TELUS Digital as an early Prisma AIRS customer, and said Palo Alto Networks is trusted by more than 70,000 organizations.
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| Unit economics Do gross margins survive inference/compute costs? Is pricing durable? | 4/5 | Protect AI's margin was not disclosed. Palo Alto Networks' FY2026 earnings release reported total revenue of $11.480 billion, cost of revenue of $3.403 billion, and gross profit of $8.077 billion. FY2026 GAAP operating income was $695 million and net income was $307 million.
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| Moat Proprietary data, distribution, switching costs, or tech that is hard to copy? | 4/5 | Palo Alto Networks said Protect AI's scanning, red teaming, and runtime tools become part of Prisma AIRS, sold through Palo Alto's platform. The moat is the parent's distribution, not an independent Protect AI brand.
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| Platform risk Could a model provider or incumbent ship this as a feature? (higher score = lower risk) | 2/5 | Customers no longer buy an independent Protect AI company. The close announcement said CEO Ian Swanson joined Palo Alto Networks as VP, Product, Prisma AIRS, and that the technology is integrated into the parent's suite. Roadmap and packaging depend on Palo Alto Networks.
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| Team & execution Shipping cadence, leadership track record, stability. | 4/5 | Palo Alto Networks said the Protect AI team joined and that Swanson became VP, Product for Prisma AIRS. Deal price was not in the completion release.
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| Funding vs. traction Is capital raised justified by verifiable traction? | 4/5 | The parent is public and reported $21.2 billion of remaining performance obligations at July 31, 2026. Protect AI's purchase price was not stated in the completion press release or the FY2026 earnings exhibit, so it is Unknown.
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| Hype signals Demo-driven marketing, vague metrics, valuation outrunning evidence? (higher score = fewer red flags) | 4/5 | Parent scale comes from an earnings release filed with the SEC. The acquisition announcement is promotional about Prisma AIRS, but it does not invent a Protect AI revenue figure.
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Listing source: https://protectai.com. Revenue, users, and valuation figures appear only when publicly sourced; otherwise they are marked unknown.