Databricks acquires Panther Labs to boost cybersecurity
▼ Summary
– Databricks is acquiring cybersecurity startup Panther Labs to use AI agents for defense against AI-powered cyberattacks.
– CEO Ali Ghodsi stated that since attackers use AI agents, defenders must also use AI agents, rendering old security alert methods obsolete.
– Panther Labs consolidates security data into one platform for AI agents to triage alerts and investigate threats automatically.
– The acquisition targets legacy SIEM software from companies like Splunk, with Databricks launching its own “security lakehouse” called Lakewatch.
– Databricks first attempted to buy Panther in 2021, but founder Jack Naglieri declined; the deal is now pending regulatory clearance.
Databricks is placing a major bet on the AI era of cybersecurity, and its strategy is simple: fight fire with fire.
The $134 billion data-and-AI powerhouse announced it will acquire Panther Labs, a cybersecurity startup, in a move that deepens its push into a market long ruled by Splunk and CrowdStrike. This marks Databricks’ third security acquisition, underscoring how seriously it is taking the business. The companies did not disclose the financial terms.
The rationale is stark but straightforward. Artificial intelligence has dramatically shortened the time attackers need to find and exploit a software flaw. Today, adversaries use AI to scan cloud and SaaS environments for weaknesses far faster than any human team can respond.
“If they’re going to attack you with agents, you have to defend with agents,” Databricks chief executive Ali Ghodsi told Reuters. He declared the old approach to managing security alerts “dead”.
Panther was built precisely for this new reality. The platform consolidates a company’s security data into a single location, allowing AI agents to automatically triage alerts and investigate threats. It already protects AI-native environments, part of a wider push to secure the growing swarm of AI agents inside large enterprises. Anthropic is among its customers.
Databricks is calling the result a “security lakehouse”, and its target is clear: the legacy SIEM , the security monitoring software that Splunk and others have sold for years. In March, Databricks launched its own version, Lakewatch. Panther adds a ready-made platform and a team that has spent years building cloud-native threat detection.
The acquisition fits a broader pattern. Databricks is buying its way into one vertical after another, and cybersecurity is the latest. Panther follows two earlier security buys, Antimatter and SiftD.ai.
There is a backstory here. Ghodsi said he first met Panther’s founder, Jack Naglieri, in 2021. He took him to dinner and pitched an acquisition. Naglieri said no and kept building. “That was a good idea for him,” Ghodsi noted, “because his valuation has been going up since then.”
Panther was last valued at $1.4 billion, after a $120 million funding round in 2021, though that figure is not what Databricks is paying now. Five years later, with its own valuation soaring and an IPO on the horizon, Databricks finally got its yes. The deal remains subject to regulatory clearance.
(Source: The Next Web)
